HOCK ah.....

that's the last thing i will do to make a watch ugly........

bad match....

ah read this up... panerai and ferrari could be splitting up....

http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/04/panerai-and-ferrari-officially-break-up/

i have always maintained that these ferrari-branded watches are hopeless.......

and 5 years is indeed a long time for them to realise this folly.....

a tough bar ....

why do most watches come with spring bars...??? are they cheaper to use or are the manufactures reluctant to change.......

spring bars present a real headache when owners wish to remove or change the bracelet/strap... !! especially if one did not use a special tool....... try using a toothpick or thin pen-knife and you will surely curse and swear....and very often one will knick or scratch either the case or bracelet or worse still, BOTH !!.....

even technicians at the service centre are not spared the problem....... of course we can reduce the likelihood by taping the case, bracelet and screwdriver tip with masking tape....... but why should we have to do this in the first place.....

anyway i prefer screws...... and of course the various quick-change system introduced by panerai, JLC, IWC.....

really hope to see these being implemented across the entire range..... and also more manufactures to pioneer their own unique system...

3 days power reserve....

a few of the grey dealers are selling "brand new" pam 312k for list price........ but why would anyone wanna transact at that price when the authorised dealers are also selling at list price..???

if one cannot wait, might as well get one from other local dealers that often post in the internet for about S$9000.....

crazy....

a costly difference....

some might be curious about the differences between a pam 5 logo and a pam 111.....

well some of the answers can be found here...

http://www.network54.com/Forum/353391/thread/1259176030/why+is+a+005+less+expensive+than+a+111-

downtown browsing

it began to rain heavily so i cant park at my usual place..... to add to the insult, my usual place was FULL.... totally FULL as in not even 1 inch of space for me to squeeze in the butt...... anyway i dun mind paying a little more to stay dry....

itching to see the pam 312, i dropped by hour glass tang plaza....

and yes they do have 1 piece which was already reserved..... i was told the next is mine if i pay a deposit...... price? at $9850....... also managed to touch/feel/see the pam 270 but as you know, this one is 2.5 times more expensive in terms of list prices......

thinking that i love big watches, the salesperson showed me the latest hublot big bang classic in ceramic (500 pcs LE) and zirconium (regular production)....

nowadays i am not much of a hublot fan but the ceramic case is very well done: the sides of the watch case is polished until it is mirror smooth and it looked flawless under the light ..... since the case is in ceramic, i am sure the finish will be durable......

no more wish....

previously when the pam 312 first arrived on our shores, many ppl were asking for it.... and prices hovered a little above list price.....

now there are quite a few sellers willing to let go at below the local list price but how come no one is biting..????

cos the wish to own one is gone..???

maybe.....

dumping or flooding....??

time waits for no man or in this case, no watch haha.....

in recent days and weeks, the number of pam 312 watches put up for sale is beginning to dilute the strong asking prices that were prevalent only about a month ago......

of cos the very first few pieces commanded a small premium at about S$10,500...... then it was closer to S$10,000......

these days? well, pieces from overseas are available at lower than the singapore list price......

isnt that cool..??? YEAH!! great for the buyer....... and i am sure the production volume will catch up with the demand in time to come...

by then even ADs will have to sell at a small discount.....

not a torch....

it's a well known fact that luminova in modern watches glow intensively when exposed to the sun .......

what is not commonly known is that the intensity decreases rapidly indoors........ very very rapidly indeed..... to those ppl who expect the watch to lume for HOURS, well you gonna be disappointed.....

however, the lume will still be there over a period of time......... and that is obvious in dark surroundings (i.e. little ambient light).......

ferrari california by panerai

the new car from maranello is widely considered a watershed introduction by ferrari....... car lovers worldwide are wowed by direction-injection 4.3 litre engine, automatic folding softtop, the provision of 4 seats and also a new gearbox........ all making the newest ferrari the most versatile thus far.....

to go along with the new car, there's also a new watch............... called the california too, haha

i think the watch is only OK......... it's not particularly handsome or musculine and not even eye-catching........

the likely thing to happen is: owners of the california might end up buying other watches...........

my current fav...... panerai.....

the one that i like da most right now.......... is the pam 270........ which is one of the most amazing automatic watches u can find on the market......

armed with a 10-day power reserve, it's almost almost guaranteed to run "forever" haha......



that BIG bubble of a dome crystal is so sexy.......... and not forgetting the patented crown locking device....... so musculine........



not only is the design sexy........ the movement is just as awesome........... beautifully finished and executed, it brings panerai's automatic watches to a totally different price level.......



strap lovers will be happy to know that the latest watches come with a quick-change mechanism........... strap swapping is no longer a headache...!!



it certainly looks great even in the wild...........

1st 3 pics copyright of william loi
4th pic from a 270 owner

a deal for you

those looking for BNIB panerai watches shd check this out....

http://www.network54.com/Forum/353390/thread/1214364811/last-1214364811/Panerai+For+Sale+%28William+Loi%29

there are the latest K serial pam24, pam90, pam104, pam183 and even the 233!! best of all, his asking prices are lower than MSRP......

his inventory is always good huh...........

day dream: panerai

the more i look at this, the more i like it.......especially the 1950 case, which i find more attractive than the standard luminor case..... not to forget that dome crystal and BIGGER crown protector of cos.... :)

to be honest, i like the look of a chronograph watch but i hardly ever use it...... what's more a rattrapante (split-seconds chronograph)......

although i am not sure of the pricing, it doesnt look and come cheap but no harm thinking about it........ always good to daydream huh......

red or yellow.....

pic copyright by william loi

two ferrari by panerai chronographs in bright-coloured dials........

well i may be a fan of the prancing horse but i dun think these watches are an exact extension of the spirit of ferrari....

judged on their own, they are appealing in design and function........large 44 mm watch cases, simple and legible dials, large and easy to use pushers and crowns........just that they dun have the beauty of the cars from maranello

i like the luminous dots on the crown.......and panerai have taken the extra effort to ensure that the crown is centred with a locking mechanism i.e. the prancing horse on the crown will always face up.....

the brushed surfaces are also easier to maintain ........not cheap but i am sure many can afford

dream watches 2: panerai

within the short span of a few years, panerai has firmly established their presence in the horological world..... some of their watches have stole the hearts of many a WIS, especially classics like the pam 190.....

let's browse through the range and see if there's anything nice......:)

models i like are...........

pam 252 north pole gmt (2006 limited edition - 500 pcs)


pic by william loi

ha this one is purely about looks......... i like the blue dial and the stick hour markers......... movement wise nothing special cos within is a modified valjoux 7750 renamed as panerai OP VIII.......

features are largely similar to the contemporary range of panerai watches.... 44 mm ss case, 42 hrs power reserve.... list price is S$11500...... which is alot considering that a pam 104/164 retails for S$7220....

therefore it remains as something which is good to have....

pam 92 arktos (2004 limited edition 500 pcs)


pic by copyright owner

almost similar to the 252, this one was released in 2004 as a LE......... this one has no gmt function though........ but see pics enough liao.....haha

actually there is another arktos model..... the pam 186 which was released as a normal production model in 2005 only....... interesting it was not a LE but after 500 units, they have stopped it...... the 186 comes with a gmt hand...... last sold for S$10630

pam 243 submersible 1000 m


pic by william loi

this one is not a limited edition but has a limited production of 500 units each model year..... that means they will only make 500 units for I series then 500 units for J series and so on..... until they decide to stop......

if u take a closer look, u will see a slightly different case being used.... as compared to the cases for pam 24 and 25 (the other 2 submersible watches)....... panerai call this the 1950 case.....it has a slightly different profile with softer lines than the luminor case.....

the 243 also has a smaller dial compared to the 24....... it comes with a helium escape valve and is rated to 1000 m.......... looks pretty stout huh......:)

list price i tink is S$10830.......

pam 190 8 days

this watch is equipped with a manual winding movement sporting a power reserve of 8 days!........ and this movement was made by JLC...... it comes with a transparent case back so that one could admire the gorgeous JLC movement and also the PR display...... cool huh.......

list price S$13720.... ouch ouch......