_jonte 0 Posted October 5, 2010 Hi, New to the forum and looking to buy me a nice Panerai Luminor replica. I would love to buy the real thing, but at the moment I will have to settle for a replica. My question is what replica is of best quality and finish? I've looked through the forums, especially PrestigeWatchCo, and have found that there are many options that look good. I don't mind paying a bit more, $200-300, if what I pay for looks a lot nicer than if I spend $99. Is more expensive generally better? I'm rather flexible when choosing between the different models. I pretty much like most of them. However I prefer a somewhat classic look, black dial, leather or rubber strap, and at least 44mm in size. Any help and tips will be warmly appreciated! /Jonas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mspangl 0 Posted October 5, 2010 check out the trusted dealers mate you cant go wrong here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_jonte 0 Posted October 5, 2010 Thanks for the super-fast reply! However I was wondering if the pricing between the different models, $99 $199 $299, matter? If I can get the best quality and finish in details when spending $299, I'd rather choose that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 57 Posted October 5, 2010 Thanks for the super-fast reply! However I was wondering if the pricing between the different models, $99 $199 $299, matter? If I can get the best quality and finish in details when spending $299, I'd rather choose that. the difference in price will be the modifications made to the watch. Canon Pin, Lume, Swan neck dagger movement, Cases, etc...... the $99 version is a good one to start with, however, you will find yourself modding this as your experience with reps continues Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akira 0 Posted October 5, 2010 Hi,New to the forum and looking to buy me a nice Panerai Luminor replica. I would love to buy the real thing, but at the moment I will have to settle for a replica. My question is what replica is of best quality and finish? I've looked through the forums, especially PrestigeWatchCo, and have found that there are many options that look good. I don't mind paying a bit more, $200-300, if what I pay for looks a lot nicer than if I spend $99. Is more expensive generally better? I'm rather flexible when choosing between the different models. I pretty much like most of them. However I prefer a somewhat classic look, black dial, leather or rubber strap, and at least 44mm in size. Any help and tips will be warmly appreciated! /Jonas hey jonas for $99 you will get a very decent good watch from PWC, however if you can afford i would spend a little more... some ultimate pam is much much better imho. you will have swiss movement, AR coating, better dial, better lume and maybe right pin all benefits buy a good leather strap for about $80-100 and you have an awesome watch. check out PWC's offers or email mary ( [email protected] ) if you can afford...go for the higher priced model welcome to the forum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warcelo 0 Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) If you don´t mind about the brand name, Tat makes a very nice homage panerai luminator at a very nice price! Next year i will get one for me. Check it out : http://www.siswatch727.com/index.do Welcome to the forum! Edited October 5, 2010 by warcelo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_jonte 0 Posted October 5, 2010 Thank you all for the replies! The Homage watch looks very nice, but I want the "real deal". As I understand, the quality of the case should be similar on all models(?). That's nice, makes the choice slightly easier... Is there a general opinion regarding choice of movements? The models I have been looking at have: "PREMIUM SEAGULL 21 JEWEL AUTO" "ASAIN 7750 AUTOMATIC" "GMT HAND FIXED AT 6-12-24 HOURS FOLLOWING MAIN HOUR HAND" "ASIAN HAND WIND 6497 17 JEWEL" "ASIAN PREMIUM 6497" "PREMIUM ASAIN 23J" - (whats this? can't find info) Is there an obvious winner among these or doesn't it matter? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Member X 91 Posted October 5, 2010 Have a look at the Movement Guide in (I think) the new members section - will give you some background on what's available In terms of price, I would say the following applies: GMT fixed hand < 21j/23j asian auto < 6497 < 7750 Each are different and have different functions, but the simple 3-hand PAMs are usually 6497. Wait for some more answers in the next 12 hours or so and some of the PAMaholics should be on to give you guidance on good models Be aware, though, you can buy reps of PAM 111 up to about $1600, and that's not even a 'franken'[stein] using any gen parts, as I understand it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_jonte 0 Posted October 6, 2010 Thanks for the tips X! I will be patient and let the PAMaholics have their round... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted October 6, 2010 Ultimately it does rather depend on the model. There are some excellent Panerai cheapies around at the $99 to $150 region and many people find them perfectly acceptable. However, as with other brands, the quality reps are mostly in the $200 to $300 (and up from there) region. You can pick up a seriously nice 111h or 127 for around the $300 from Robert. Likewise there's quite a few chrono models that are well worth having in that kind of range. Beyond $3-400 you tend to run into the law of diminishing returns. Of course, you can spend $1500 on an extremely accurate 111h replica from Little Hero, but at that price you're getting close to the cost of picking up a gen version secondhand, which would make a lot more sense. An expensive, accurate fake is STILL a fake. Of course, there are people out there who will spend $5k on a hand-built replica of a 1930's vintage Panerai, but while that's entirely their prerogative, I doubt that anybody would accuse them of actually being sane Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_jonte 0 Posted October 6, 2010 The more I read around the forum, the more I realize I don't know... Deja vu! However I'm starting to form a picture of what to look for. At the moment a Lemania movement is at the top of my list. It seems this is the best choice for reliability and a feel of genuinity. Is that true? In some threads it is stated that the 7750 can be somewhat unreliable and demand service once in a while. Does the same go for the 7753? I guess that the 6497 seem to be pretty good too. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I will not settle until I have found the best of the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBH 7 Posted October 6, 2010 One thing I've realized is that you can buy almost anything on the Internet. Whether or not you actually receive what you paid for is a whole different story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted October 6, 2010 The more I read around the forum, the more I realize I don't know... Deja vu! However I'm starting to form a picture of what to look for. At the moment a Lemania movement is at the top of my list. It seems this is the best choice for reliability and a feel of genuinity. Is that true? In some threads it is stated that the 7750 can be somewhat unreliable and demand service once in a while. Does the same go for the 7753? I guess that the 6497 seem to be pretty good too. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I will not settle until I have found the best of the best. The 6497 (asian or swiss) is THE most reliable movement found in reps. It's virtually bomb-proof and easy to service. Beyond the 6497 (which is hand wind) there are a number of pretty solid non-chrono movements around. The Asian 'clone ETAs' tend to be decent value and you'll also find the occasional gen Swiss ETA around too. For chrono movements, the "lemania" (actually nothing of the sort - it's a SeaGull ST19) is probably the most reliable found in reps, but doesn't suit every configuration. The A7750 isn't too bad, but like the Swiss version it's rather fragile. How good it is ultimately comes down to quality control. The clone 7753 seems to be based on the A7750, sharing many parts. Being pretty new, we've yet to see how reliable they're going to turn out to be. Be aware that ANY mechanical watch - gen or rep - is going to need servicing periodically - the only exception would be the cheap 21J movements which are cheaper to replace than to fix. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_jonte 0 Posted October 8, 2010 Many thanks for the help from everyone! Just ordered a PAM 104 with the 7750 from Robert. Will be back with a review and photos when it arrives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
