I'm a total noob when it comes to manual wind watches, both my brothers own either a manual or automatic watch, so I wanted to see what the deal was with watches with hands and a traditional movement without breaking the bank.
Anyways, I wanted to buy my first manual/automatic watch. After searching and reading, I was totally unsure of what "style" of watch would suit me, since I'm used to looking at red digital digits. I looked at diver watches, pilot watches, fashion watches, etc... I was looking hard at purchasing a Marathon GSAR, then the Dievas Vortex caught my eye, but neither was "me". I'd show them to my wife and she'd say "that doesn't look like something you would wear".
Finally, I stumbled upon a "Best PAM Homage" thread on another forum. I remembered seeing a Panerai in a watch magazine I bought years ago. I was immediately hooked. I read all 70+ pages before the thread was locked. I looked at all the different styles you could create with such a basic design. I finally settled on something I wanted and read everything about the different vendors of the homage watch.
I finally contacted a member of that site who assembles PAM homages and makes his own straps, as I liked the look of some of the watches he built (plus he's in Canada too)! He gave me some options on what he could provide, and here's what I ended up with:
44mm Titanium Luminor case (Destro)
Sapphire crystal
Titanium exhibition back
Asian 6497 movement w/Swan neck regulator
Matte black Sandwich dial w/seconds @ 3
Black hands, white second hand
Blue C1 lume
Custom black leather band w/black buckle.
Here are some pics (I'm not the greatest photographer):
A couple of lume shots:
And the obligatory wrist shot:
I love the watch! The strap is made out of the softest leather I've ever touched. I showed the watch to my wife and she said, "now that watch suits you to a tee". I'll be commissioning him again to make me another custom watch. Don't get me wrong, I'm not switching teams...I still love the glow of red @ night!
Anyways, I wanted to buy my first manual/automatic watch. After searching and reading, I was totally unsure of what "style" of watch would suit me, since I'm used to looking at red digital digits. I looked at diver watches, pilot watches, fashion watches, etc... I was looking hard at purchasing a Marathon GSAR, then the Dievas Vortex caught my eye, but neither was "me". I'd show them to my wife and she'd say "that doesn't look like something you would wear".
Finally, I stumbled upon a "Best PAM Homage" thread on another forum. I remembered seeing a Panerai in a watch magazine I bought years ago. I was immediately hooked. I read all 70+ pages before the thread was locked. I looked at all the different styles you could create with such a basic design. I finally settled on something I wanted and read everything about the different vendors of the homage watch.
I finally contacted a member of that site who assembles PAM homages and makes his own straps, as I liked the look of some of the watches he built (plus he's in Canada too)! He gave me some options on what he could provide, and here's what I ended up with:
44mm Titanium Luminor case (Destro)
Sapphire crystal
Titanium exhibition back
Asian 6497 movement w/Swan neck regulator
Matte black Sandwich dial w/seconds @ 3
Black hands, white second hand
Blue C1 lume
Custom black leather band w/black buckle.
Here are some pics (I'm not the greatest photographer):
A couple of lume shots:
And the obligatory wrist shot:
I love the watch! The strap is made out of the softest leather I've ever touched. I showed the watch to my wife and she said, "now that watch suits you to a tee". I'll be commissioning him again to make me another custom watch. Don't get me wrong, I'm not switching teams...I still love the glow of red @ night!