Panerai knockoff recommendations

Harry Callahan

Harry Callahan

Fresh outta warranty
Gold Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2002
Messages
1,753
Looking for a Panerai knockoff and have found that it's a dizzying prospect. Some of these "homage" watches carry a pricetag of up to five bills. No warranty, no declared water resistance rating, no idea if it was screwed together in some Chinaman's basement. I've seem some nice ones however. Ran across one last night on another forum that was priced at 200, came with an extra leather strap and everything. Date function, seconds dial, saphire crystal, swan neck crown protector, hand wind and hack, automatic with 48 hr reserve, claimed 300m WR, the whole bit. Basically my grail watch.

Can anyone recommend a fake Pan that really rocks? I prolly should have bought the one described above but I just had a bad vibe. Is there anyone producing these that has a good reputation and a good warranty? Thanks.
 
The Marina Militaire ones are supposed to be good and the Ray Knight ones are also well thought of ;) there's nothing like the real thing though.
P1010058-1.jpg
 
I like it soo much that I haven't been wearing anything else with the exception of my Seiko Sumo for the more athletic jaunts.

I'm selling my Planet Ocean and thinking on selling my Speedmaster after getting so attached to the Panerai. They're amazing watches. Pretty much the only other brand besides Rolex to hold value so incredibly well!
 
Schweeeet!! Amazing. You know, of all the "busy" dials on those Omegas and such, that simplistic look is a refreshing thing. I don't know how these things command such a price but one thing I DO know is that if I was to spend 7k on a wristwatch my wife would have me drawn and quartered. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you got the real deal and I hope it stays in your family for generations. It's just not doable for me. Thanks much for the sweet pic. That's the look I'm after. Totally kewl. :cool:

What's the back of that thing look like? Does it have an exhibition back with a decorated mov't? Hoping for more pics to drool over... :confused:
 
I totally got you, I went down to Mexico and sold a kydney to a rich banker to pay for college and a Panerai :p

I haven't taken any pics of the movement...it DOES have an exhibition back but here's a good rep:
http://cdn2.ioffer.com/img/item/172/543/87/o_PAM111H-2.jpg

and a whole gallery here:
http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=231157

You can actually find one that's in great shape for around $3700 right now. I paid $4500 from a guy I know brand new (it's very hard to find below retail but they're there)...literally three months from the factory. I was VERY stoked on that. I had only been able to afford watches that people had been wearing for three years or so before buying this one. There really is nothing like buying new.

I wear it every day and plan on wearing it for the rest of my life....or until I hand it off to one of my kids....if I'm in that position. It makes me feel good just to wind it up and put it on....in the same sort of way as clipping my trusty Sebenza to my pocket makes me feel. Even moreso because it's a mechanical device :D it keeps near perfect time. Roughly a third of a second fast a day. Redonkulous!
 
I especially like the PAM's because of the bold, simple faces. I wear glasses (though I do my best to not wear them :p) and it's hard to make out a finer watch sometimes. At a glance that is. Not so with this guy. It's VERY readable.

People rave about it being overpriced but it's all about what you're willing to pay I'm very happy with the whole deal. Aside from the actual movement which is a re-worked unitas, the watch is hand made...you can tell if you look very carefully at the case. It's just beautifully constructed and extremely substancial without being TOO big and heavy. It's cool having something that strays from the norm. No one knows Panerai out there. For all they know you bought it at Wal-Mart at a glance. Whole different story than wearing an Omega or a Rolex which are both pretty recognizable. I like to fly under the radar ;)

All in all, watch guys are also knife guys and vice versa when you really get down to it a lot of the time :D you'd be surprised how many of the guys on the watch forums like Chris Reeve and such.

I love my little knife collection but I just don't get to use them enough....since I'm constantly glancing at the time, I get to enjoy my watch all day!
 
Harry Callahan said:
Schweeeet!! Amazing. You know, of all the "busy" dials on those Omegas and such, that simplistic look is a refreshing thing. I don't know how these things command such a price but one thing I DO know is that if I was to spend 7k on a wristwatch my wife would have me drawn and quartered. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you got the real deal and I hope it stays in your family for generations. It's just not doable for me. Thanks much for the sweet pic. That's the look I'm after. Totally kewl. :cool:

What's the back of that thing look like? Does it have an exhibition back with a decorated mov't? Hoping for more pics to drool over... :confused:
Click to expand...

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=309010&highlight=ray+knight
http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=304246&highlight=ray+knight
http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=286212&highlight=ray+knight
http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=299970&highlight=ray+knight

I have no idea if any of them are actually still available but they're good examples of what a good homage piece is going for and what to look for.

Absolutely DON'T go with a china unitas unless you intend for it to be a short term disposable watch. Some are probably great and might work and keep time very well, I don't know....just isn't worth cracking open and fixing when something goes wrong.

With a Ray Knight you could always send it back to him for work and you have a swiss movement that's very similar to the Panerai Movement....based off the same Unitas and you have the precision/reliability of a tried and true swiss mechanical movement. There's a lot of piece of mind there. I only wear Swiss and Japanese movements. I've found them both to be very practical, reliable, tough and accurate.

You buy right the first time you don't have to mess around ;)

Plus, if you buy one at these prices, you can always re-sell at the same if you decide it's not for you :thumbup:
 
i bought a chinese homage from a reasonably respected maker and was sorely disappointed.

i paid a pretty high dollar for it too.


now i have a real pam and the homage just sits collecting dust. no value, not a good watch, serves no purpose. i could try to resell it but... i'm actually kind of embarrassed to list it.


live and learn. i recommend you save and get a real one-- they can be had affordably on the second hand market, and in the end it'll be more worth it.
 
PAM's are very nice, but there are lots of great watches out there. and dont get scared off by retail prices because the used watch market is full of deals on almost never worn watches (many collectors out there who just like to look at their watches)

also, its not uncommon to get a 30% discount on any designer brand purchase from an authorized dealer. Louis Vuitton, Dior, Omega, Rolex, etc...

its the brand new releases of new designs that are hard to negotiate on

lots of fake pammy's out there if thats what you want, anyone that owns a real one (high end watch) can usually spot it and those that cant probably dont even own a watch over $100

just food for thought
 
Getting the real thing is out of the question for more than one reason, one being domestic tranquility. There's just no way to explain spending that kind of money on a wristwatch. My wife simply doesn't speak the language. Other reasons are that most of the time I'm into something nasty like diesel fuel, grease, mud, welding slag, you get the picture. I can't even leave the house in something that I'd be afraid to get dirty. It's just the nature of what I do. To be wearing a 3700 dollar watch just wouldn't make sense with some of the stuff I get involved in (even on my days off).

On the flip side of the coin, I love the Pam "look". Totally cool and simplistic. I actually don't care a hoot what someone "in the know" would think if he recognized my watch as a fake. What concerns me is the quality of the fake that I'm laying my hard earned money down for. I don't want to plunk down 2 bills for a POS that gets water damage from simple handwashing. That's my concern. Plus I want acceptable accuracy and decent enough lume that makes the watch viewable a few hours after going to bed. Not too much to ask in my opinion.

I'm very happy for you guys that have the real thing. I think that's wonderful. You can hand that thing down for generations to come. A special way your offspring can remember their Grandpa.

I'm approaching this more from a utilitarian angle. I guess you could sum it up by saying that I'm looking for near GShock reliabiltiy in a 200 dollar fake Pam. :cool:
 
Like HC I wanted a Panerai, but my budget could not afford the real thing. I was in NYC years ago (legendary Canal Street), and even purchased a really well made 'fake auto knockoff' for but $85.

Thing is, it would give me pangs of guilt when I wore it. It actually has the name Panerai on the face. I decided against wearing it.

That said, I looked further, and found the history of the Panerai-style watch was originally made by Rolex for the Italian army in WWII. Somewhere along the way Rolex dropped(?) the design, and it was picked up by Panerai. Among others....

I found a seller on eBay with a quality 'homage' with NO name branding. Also doing a bit of research, the classic Swiss pocketwatch ETA 6497 movement is what true Panerai's (+Rolex's?) use. This seller had exactly what I wanted for about $350:

orig.jpg


(I found more than one advisor's posted instance of the more-detailed jeweled movements as authenticated as NOT Swiss.)

I don't wear this all the time, but it IS quality. I happened to get the Chinese clone wet and it fogged up. I have not immersed this to know. I'm not sure I feel 100% substantiated, but I am not wearing a 'fake' with a trademark nametag. I am wearing a classic watch designed by Rolex for the Italian army years ago.

Correct me if I'm way off....

Coop
 
Harry Callahan said:
Getting the real thing is out of the question for more than one reason, one being domestic tranquility. There's just no way to explain spending that kind of money on a wristwatch. My wife simply doesn't speak the language. Other reasons are that most of the time I'm into something nasty like diesel fuel, grease, mud, welding slag, you get the picture. I can't even leave the house in something that I'd be afraid to get dirty. It's just the nature of what I do. To be wearing a 3700 dollar watch just wouldn't make sense with some of the stuff I get involved in (even on my days off).

On the flip side of the coin, I love the Pam "look". Totally cool and simplistic. I actually don't care a hoot what someone "in the know" would think if he recognized my watch as a fake. What concerns me is the quality of the fake that I'm laying my hard earned money down for. I don't want to plunk down 2 bills for a POS that gets water damage from simple handwashing. That's my concern. Plus I want acceptable accuracy and decent enough lume that makes the watch viewable a few hours after going to bed. Not too much to ask in my opinion.

I'm very happy for you guys that have the real thing. I think that's wonderful. You can hand that thing down for generations to come. A special way your offspring can remember their Grandpa.

I'm approaching this more from a utilitarian angle. I guess you could sum it up by saying that I'm looking for near GShock reliabiltiy in a 200 dollar fake Pam. :cool:
Click to expand...

FYI you don't have to be so concerned about getting a pam dirty/wet/oily. as many watch enthusiasts consider rolex explorers/submariners/etc as "tool" watches, so is the panerai.

i'm US army, and i wear my pam daily, regardless. the case/bezel/bracelet shows it too-- but i wouldn't think of spending so much on a watch and not wear it. all in all, it keeps outstanding time regardless of environment, and is very, very tough. superficial scratches and marks aside, of course.

i've taken it scuba diving, i both ride and work on my motorcycle with it on, i wear it in the field, no matter what. i wore my homage all through iraq (didn't have a real pam at the time, else i'd had worn that).


if you don't want to wear it everywhere due to personal reasons of price, that's fine. but they are, in fact, resilient watches. the only thing you *don't* want to do is drop it on a tile floor. any mechanical watch will die from that.




while you may not find a pam in your price range, consider hamilton? they make some delightful, large cased watches with spartan dials, and genuine swiss internals, and can be had for affordable prices. i wore a hamilton "khaki" for years and was extremely pleased.

i just strongly discourage the purchase of knock-off panerai. not because of my "elitist" status as a panerai owner, but in my experience a knock off did not satisfy what i was looking for and retains zero value should you want to change watches in the future.
 
I have had a few Pan's over the years and kept just one. They are OK and I do like the style. I just don't like the large size and really feel they have become way overpriced compared to other options. In the end it is just a watch. Knock offs and homage pieces are ripping off the original brand so I would just look for something similar that strikes you. Here is the one I have. I like it alot and it has served me well for about 4 years so far -

pam160.jpg
 
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