Officine Panerai

Ciao guys!
Hope you all are having a great start to the weekend. Well for me, things are going fine, except the fact that I can no longer take the "faults" i see in my 309, and thus sent it in for a general checkup.
Ok, i know most of you have read my very positive review about the 309 that i own, the 1st in Japan, but unfortunately right now no longer the only one in Japan, as we apparently got a 2nd one in the country already.
But the part that i did not post about on the forums is that using my 10x loupe, i discovered numerous places on the movement bridges that appear to be "stained" or "smudged" as you might put it. I have brought this to the attention of the OP boutique here in Tokyo, and they admit to the imperfectness in the finish, and initially i told them that i can wait till the 1st overhaul needed, but then as time passed, i begin to discover more places on the movement with this fault, and other faults too, such as the ink on my serial number on the movement bridge having "air bubble " like spaces on the numberals itself.
So i decided that i shouldnt accept such crappy work, and decided to send it in for a cleanup yesterday. The boutique staff were of course very accomodating, and they will try to get the whole thing done in the shortest time possible.
Now dont get me wrong, in no way am i saying that I dont like OP anymore, i'm just coming to the reality that well OP is NOT Lange, but the finish for the 309 was so very perfect, with the exception of these smudges, that the staff said it was very likely that the watchmaker who last handled the movement accidentally touched the movement itself without any gloves, although how this can happen in over 4 separate places i am scratching my head over this.
In any case, i have to say goodbye to my 309 for probably the next 4 months at least, but well if all goes well i should be able to get it back at the start of the new year.
I will keep the forums informed of the progress if any. In the mean time, i have my 249 & 232 to accompany me.
Cheers guys,
Stephen

You were so enthusiast when getting your 309!

Well, we'll see what Panerai is able to do to give you back, and in a perfect condition, your 309.

I sincerly hope the best for you, y friend.

As you said, you have other toys to pllay with, while waiting for this one.

Best, Stephen.

Nicolas

Yes, indeed I will be waiting enthusiatically everyday as to what OP will do about the faults, and how much more can they clean up the bridges.

We'll just have to see the magic of OP's manufacture work into my little baby on its way back to Switzerland^^

Cheers,

Stephen

 

P.S. How is your JLC squeletton treating you? Having a blast of a time i hope ^^ v

As for my Perpetual Skeleton, yes, still honey moon with it!

This is a fantastic piece, one of those you love more and more day after day.

Best, Stephen!

Nicolas

for the sympathy, but i do agree with what you have said, that all our favourite pieces are indeed made virtually in its entirety by the hands of a fellow human being. And as with all man-made goods, there are bound to be faults, but i guess my personal standards are oftentimes too high for my own good, and since my personal standard again for the watch industry is Lange, i expect (although I KNOW that this bothers on the impossible) all other brands to have the same finish, if even as close as possible. As for the 309, since it houses a Minerva movement , coming from a manufacturer that i have huge respects for, and after handling most of their Villeret collection for MOntblanc, i was looking forward to a very finely finished movement for the 309. But as i have said in my 1st few posts about the 309, the maitre horloger from Minerva did say that the movements for OP were not finished to their highest level, so i should have known better.

I mean the corte de geneve, anglage of the 309 is superb, something you would never get in a normal PAM, but i guess its these smudges that i cannot stand looking at even for one second.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and see what OP is gonna do about it.

 

Grazie,

Stephen

I wasnt very happy though when I 1st heard that the finish wont be the best that Minerva can offer, but then i remembered that Signor Bonati saying something like a OP is a functional watch, and need not have the finest haute horlogical finish.

But as many of you have pointed out, if OP really want to go up-market and go against the big boys, it is imperative that they buckle up on their finish, and seeing that they are charging over 10,000 euros nowadays for their pieces, i believe that we as collectors have the right to demand a better finish.

 Such as in the case of the 309, since it cost 18,000 euro for virtually ZERO COMPLICATION, i would have felt that the price would have been justified way much more if they actually requested Minerva to finish it to the same level as the way Miverva did for Montblanc. 

And it is indeed the after-service that shall differentiate the brands, so we shall see how OP takes my case into account.

 

Grazie and have a great weekend,

Stephen

lets hope you get it back in a flash! enjoy your other pieces for the time being though

I sure hope to get it back soon too! Yup, once my titanium 26mm buckle for my 232 arrives, boy I have a nice baby strap waiting for it!

Cheers,

Stephen

This step by Panerai up the horological ladder with higher price points will now require them to improve the quality of their finishing. If they don't, honestly, I don't see them succeeding in this new territory.

I don't expect Lange finishing, but I do hope and expect them to improve their quality of finishing from their current form.
Marketing can only get you so far up the ladder, and rest comes from complications, innovations, and finishing.

I hope Panerai fixes things for you, and please do keep us updated.

Cheers,
AT

Couldnt agree more with you, not especially when its coming from the perfectionist king of Japan! Hahaha

Thanks again and look for the end -report of this time's service hopefully soon on the boards!

Cheers,

Stephen

The 309 is a great piece and do keep us inform when she is back.

Hope all turns goes well and speedy.

Just keep looking on the boards and keep praying for my piece too!!

Cheers,

Stephen