A Tale Of Three Fiddys

[greg_r 82]

A Fiddy was the fourth or fifth watch I bought when I got back into reps in 2008. It was actually my second Panerai; the first, a 111h bought to find out what all the fuss was about, was so awesome, I thought I ought to try another one. The only thing was that at the time I’d never worn anything larger than 44m (I’d been wearing 40mm and smaller watches up to that point), and I was worried it was going to feel too big. I therefore decided to go for a cheapie.

 

I’d been buying from Robert via iOffer since before he became a trusted dealer on the forums, so he was my first port of call. $99 and a week later and I had my first Fiddy. I instantly realised my mistake - the size felt perfect for me and I should have bought a better one!

 

 

It was okay for $99, but the crystal was mineral glass, the CG was rather crude, the decoration on the movement was a sticker, the lume was pretty weak and the strap, whilst looking the part, was absolute garbage.

 

Unfortunately, by the time I decided to enquire about getting a better one, Robert had sold out of his so-called ‘PWC Ultimate Fiddy’ - widely regarded as the best out of the box Fiddy rep then available. So, I stuck with my cheapie - wearing it very regularly - until Robert, who by now had been a trusted dealer here for about 9 months and a member for well over a year, got around to commissioning a new batch (which turned out to be the final batch made and slightly superior to what had gone before). I pre-ordered and waited anxiously for it to arrive.

 

Other than the standard rep strap (which was crap - I immediately replaced it with a blue shark strap ordered for the purpose and which remains on the watch to this day), the watch was very impressive. The CG was a lot better, albeit not quite perfect. Lume was decent - although not actually superlume - it had a Swiss 6497 (albeit with Chinese engraved bridges), sapphire crystal and, most importantly to me, FELT like quality.

 

 

 

We roll on to 2011. The H-factory have been producing a good range of high-quality 44mm PAMs for the last few months and then the Noob factory get into the game and, with a few caveats, produce even better reps. Towards the end of the year - in fact only a few weeks before he passed away - Robert mentioned to me that there was a noob PAM127 on the way, and it was going to be something special - very close to gen indeed. Given that the Fiddy is, for me, THE iconic Panerai, I told him that I’d have one as soon as he got ‘em. Sadly he passed away just a few weeks later in December 2011 (RIP my friend).

 

Early this year, Noobfactory released small quantities of the 127. Being that Josh was the first to list them, I pre-ordered. Big mistake. No criticism of Josh, but the factory were just unable to keep up with demand and two months later, my name was still way down the pre-order list. I cancelled the order and decided to be happy with my PWC Fiddy for a while longer - figuring that I’d pick one up when they became more readily available. Unfortunately, they’re STILL scarce, so when Del advertised his in M2M sales I was lucky enough to see his post within moments - I jumped.

 

Here it is - this is definitely a super rep in my book. Frighteningly close to gen and in the same league as my Santos XL and Breit SOH v2 (both, incidentally, bought from Robert).

 

 

 

 

 

So, the noob 127 is better than the PWC ultimate Fiddy in every way, then? Well, not quite. The lume is awesome (by far the best I've yet seen from the noobfactory), the CG is spot on and the engraving on the movement is finer than I've seen on E-series movements before. The rep strap is easily the best I've ever had - very much of OEM quality and extremely soft and flexible. Certainly the watch looks a whole lot better than any prior 127 rep - however, the PWC fiddy has an edge in one important area: It's fitted with a Swiss movement and you can tell the difference every time you wind the watch. The PWC Fiddy feels like an expensive gen. The noob version feels just fine, but isn't quite in the same league.

 

:dunno:

 

I’m not planning to sell the PWC Fiddy - I like the strap it’s on (which gives it a slightly different flavour to the noobfactory version, which is on a very accurate rep of the OEM strap) and, of all the watches I bought from Robert, this is the one that reminds me of him the most. However, I think the noobfactory version will be getting most of the actual wrist time from now on

 

Thanks Del - as always, it’s a real pleasure to do business with you, mate!

[trksh-bzr 3]

great story, Greg!

 

lovely watch there. I have the 217, and it's an amazing watch.......never letting it go!

 

[JohnPilot 1]

This makes me thinking about trying also a 47mm PAM.

Nice report. Thank you.

[solkryssare 109]

Cool story. I could tell a similar one about my hunt for the "perfect" Sub

[greg_r 82]

Cool story. I could tell a similar one about my hunt for the "perfect" Sub

 

You should

[Cyril_Clunge 0]

Enjoy your new watch!

 

 

 

 

ps. It looked much nicer in Del's pics

[nunu78 1,743]

Nice post G, I'm happy for you that finally you have got what you are looking for.

[greg_r 82]

Enjoy your new watch!

 

 

 

 

ps. It looked much nicer in Del's pics

 

No argument It'd look nicer in mine if I could be arsed to get the SLR out, but I'm a lazy sod so quick iPhone snaps at my desk will have to do!

[Del 4,513]

Good write-up G! I'm actually very happy you got this watch.

 

Thanks again.

[greg_r 82]

Good write-up G! I'm actually very happy you got this watch.

 

Thanks again.

 

So am I! Thank you, mate

[gtwc 1]

Glad you finally got it Greg - worth the wait !

Patience is a virtue.

Your pics look great - far better than any of my sloppy efforts.

Guess (if ever....?) I want to sell my Noob 127, there shouldn't be too much trouble!

[Crusader 0]

 

Great write up mate, love reading stories like this

 

Just wondering, I though the last 127 Noob, the one you got from Del, had a colorless AR? Is the crystall here blue because of the laptop reflection or I am miss informed?

[trksh-bzr 3]

 

Great write up mate, love reading stories like this

 

Just wondering, I though the last 127 Noob, the one you got from Del, had a colorless AR? Is the crystall here blue because of the laptop reflection or I am miss informed?

note that there is also blue AR on the CG

[Crusader 0]

Damn, blue AR on crown guard, never seen that before

 

Thanks for pointing it out, I could have made a fool out of myself if you didn't ...

[greg_r 82]

Damn, blue AR on crown guard, never seen that before

 

Thanks for pointing it out, I could have made a fool out of myself if you didn't ...

 

 

Reflection from the blue wallpaper on the 27" Mac screen you can see reflected in the crystal. AR is colourless

[hnic 1]

nice read

thanks

[ALE7575 24]

Three all are beautiful, But second one on shark strap is awesome and as you say "FELt like quality"

Congrats

ALE

[amuthon 0]

Nice story Greg, Kermit approves

 

[greg_r 82]

[rbel13 0]

very nice, i have made similar mistakes in the past of buying cheaper reps only to realize i should have spent $50 more on a better quality rep

[HWG 11]

Congrats boss, glad you finally got "the one" enjoy it often my friend!

[greg_r 82]

I am!

 

First time I've worn the same watch 3 days in a row for ages

[Uhrzeit 0]

Well Well Well,

 

I got infected again with PAM's.... the more I read about the Fiddy, the more pics I see, the more I get addicted to the 47mm watch... It definitley has a nice presence and shows up very nice on the wrist... Well, just classic...

 

Thank you for sharing Greg....!!

 

TOPS... Uffff

 

Uhrzeit

[DFH 0]

I had no idea that you had still been waiting all this time for your N Fac 127!!!! I would have sold you mine when I got rid of it! Very glad you finally got one from Del, and that it was worth the wait! Probably the best rep I ever had...

 

Wear it in great health, my friend....

[greg_r 82]

Thanks D. yes, it's been a bit of a wait, but worth it. I've been wearing it all week - one if those watches that just looks and feels 'right' on my wrist - I'd happily wear it every day.