*Almost* perfect

My PAW2000T arrived and like the previous slim design PAW1300T, I like this one a lot and its *almost* the perfect ABC watch. It pretty much has all the features that you will ever need in a wrist watch, and then some. The long list of features includes:

• Multi Band 6 Atomic and Solar (1300 is only Multi Band 5)
  
• Current/Local time,
  
• World time,
  
• 5 alarms,
  
• 24hr Stopwatch,
  
• 24hr countdown timer,
  
• Fully auto EL,
  
• Sun rise and sun set time (1300 doesn't have this),
  
• Barometer / Altimeter,
  
• Thermometer,
  
• Compass (2000 has dual layer LCD for the compass),
  
• Memory feature for altimeter
  

One thing that I really like is the conventional straight lugs design. This allows me to change the bracelet to aftermarket rubber, leather or NATO strap and gives me a lot of "wear option" for the watch.

There is only one *real* complain from me, which is the lugs/case/bracelet attachment. The design of it doesn't make it a gracious attachment of the bracelet to the case. It rather looks like an "after thoughts" instead. But I am sure the bracelet version is part of the deisgn element for this watch from the get go. And the color of resin case and titanium bracelet doesn't really match up.

There are other nice to have wish list for it. Like ... since the design of the watch is slim and the crystal is less protected as before, I wished it came with a sapphire crystal instead. Also I wished for more adjustable option for the bracelet (micro adjustment holes on the clasps, maybe even and adjustable clasps on-the-fly). And Since I always use a snooze alarm as morning alarm. I wished Casio had made the alarm #1 a snooze alarm.

Here's a wrist shot of the PAW2000T:

On the other hand, the Casio G-Shock GW9200 Riseman with over-lapping features are sold to make room for this PAW2000T. I am thinking about getting the upcoming GW9110 Gulfman so that I can have a watch with tide graph and moonphase feature. :-)

There's no free lunch ...

Hence, I have to sold a few items to pay for my PAM 186 and 111. As a result, my Ocean7 LM-7, Marathon SAR and Casio G-Shock GW056CJ are gone, as well as a bunch of straps that I don't use. But in the process I did acquire a new style PAM rubber strap and a Casio Pathfinder PAW2000T. So, that's like taking 3 step forward and 1 step back ... LOL :D

There are still a few things on the chopping board that I need to get rid of to pay to bills. One of them is the Casio G-Shock GW9200 Riseman. IMO, the Riseman is one of the best G-Shock Casio has ever made. I love the module and comfort of that watch. Unfortuniately, the features of Riseman overlaps with the PAW2000T, and I NEED a ABC (Altimeter, Barometer & compass, actually, it has a thermometer as well to make it a Triple Sensor watch) watch. And I am just not wearing the Riseman enough. Its evidenced by the battery level being dropped to mid. And I still have my GW810D and GW6900 which both I love and use all the times. Sadly, the Riseman has to go.

Lucky for the Seiko Kinetic Knight (SMY089) that I have decided I should have a kinetic watch in my collection and the awesome-ness of the Marinemaster clasps, that its staying and not going anywhere. haha~

I still have my eyes on the upcoming new Casio G-Shock GW9110 Gulfman (with atomic solar and tidegraph/moon phase + Titanium bits to make it a TRUE Gulfman). And also the new GW-S5600 with carbon fiber strap and the module from GW5000 (Multi Band 6 Atomic Solar + 24hr CDT!) caught my attention as well.

For some reason, I have lost the interest of owning a Rolex. I still think they are fantastic watches, but I am just not interested in owning one. Maybe because it seems like EVERYBODY, and I mean almost everybody that owns a luxury watch, has one. I still like the GMT IIc a lot but the reports of failing clasps just freaks me a little bit.

I plan on re-acquiring a Omega SMP co-axial blue Bond later on. I certainly have seller-remorse and still think that's best overall watch for me (the style, lume, co-axial movement, comfort, etc).

I am glad that I had the Ocean7 LM-7 and I am not regret selling it. I enjoyed the watch while I had it. And it made me realize I can't live with the Omega 1200m PloProf, because I can't easily operate the locking bezel with one hand. So having had the LM-7 saved me a lot of hassel of buying and selling the Omega. :-)

I still have enormous interest in Panerai. My most "plausible" next PAM is likely to be either a PAM 113 (white dial 44mm Luminor) or PAM 183 (Black Seal, 45mm Radiomir with black sandwich dial). Those seems to fit in my future budget "more easily". But of course, there are other PAM that I have interest in: PAM 292 (45mm Radiomir with ceramic case), PAM 190 (45mm Radiomir case with JLC 8-day movement) and PAM 233 (1950 case with in-house 8-day GMT movement).

I like the PAM 243 as well, but it seems like to similar to the PAM 186 (thick case, though its in 1950 case, with bezel). And also the PAM 305 looks great, but I don't think I can pull off a 47mm 1950 case. And the PAM 312 is a great entry into PAM with in-house movement and I really want to get one when it first came out, but now I am kinda over the initial rush upon its release and I don't think I am so much interested in getting one now.

PAM? Does she has a sister?

The PAM 111 arrived. The was a slight altercation on the transaction.
It ended up with me keeping the watch and the seller giving another
discount.

I initially didn't really like the 111 when I first try it on with the
rubber strap. After I swap the rubber strap with a thick 24mm leather
that I have, I can't believe how much the strap changes everything.
The 111 is definitely a watch that needs to be worn with leather.
Funny enough, I think the 186 looks great with the rubber strap.

Here are 2 shots of the 186 and 111:

PAM186

PAM 111

Funny enough, both my PAMs are H series :-)

I sold my Traser P6504 ... again. Its a nice watch and I like it,
especially with the cool blue dial and blue tritium tubes. But I just
ended with didn't like the way it sits on to of my wrist. Its thin and
flat, but somehow it moves around too much.

Crazy? Yes indeed.

How so? That's because of I have another Panerai coming in ... a PAM 111, H series (2005). That's the first series that has the sanwitch dial, and decoration on the bridges changed from the stamped Panerai to a côtes de geneve engraving.

Compare to the PAM 186 Arktos, the 111 has thinner case profile (the 186 has a soft iron core for anti-magnetic, hence the caseback is more dome)

At the very beginning, I thought about getting a PAM 233. But in my research, it seems like some of the 233 has problem with the dial (the power reserve slot and marking) or something like that, which sometimes requires a full service + an exchange of the dial to fix problem. If the watch is already out of the warranty, then the owner would be stucked with the service bill! I guess a trade off of having an in-house movement would be the maintenance bill. And seems like dropping that amount of cash into the 233 puts a lot of eggs in one basket.

So having the 186 and 111 together has about the same value ($$$) as a 233. At least both 186 and 111 has a long proven work horse movement, which are more commonly "fixable".

Now you see why Rolex is just slow on changes. Rolex is just charging max. amount of money that they can get away with, and try to keep everything with as little change as possible. (Until recently with the bigger case, maxi-dial, upgraded bracelet, etc)

Let's see how I like the Paneari(s) ...

I sold my Casio Mudman G9000-8V storm trooper. I like the the watch, but maybe I just can't pull off the color of the case on me. Since I have plendy of other watches sitting around. Then might as well let somebody else enjoy it.

PAM 186 Luminor GMT Arktos

I have waited and waited ... finally I found one. A PAM 186 Luminor GMT Arktos, 500 piece made in H series (2005). Its was made for Mike Horn (a South African explorer), for his trip around the Arctic Circle (in 2002, and it took him 2 years and 3 months to complete the 20,000km trip, enduring two Artic winters with temperatures reaching as low as -60°C). The PAM 186 is marked AMAGNETIC so the watch should be highly anti-magnetic and it also had special oil to operate on extream temperature.

I also like the PAM 243 1000M submersible and PAM 292 Black Seal. I don't know, maybe I should have a chance to "try" them in the future. :-)

It has been a while ...

since I last posted. Nothing much was going to with my toys. I was enjoying my Marathon SAR and Ocean7 LM-7. I am content with them and I am in no hurry to get anything else ... until today. :-)

I have a Traser P6504 Nautic incoming. I always have a love/hate relationship with the Luminox/Traser tritium tube watches. I have had a few of them but never seems to be able to keep them for too long. The Traser P6504 Nautic caught my attention some time ago with the PVD case, blue dial and countdown bezel. The tritium tubes are in combination of blue and yellow color. And one of the nice thing is that Traser moved the date window to 4:30 position, that freed up the 3 o'clock position for another full size tritium tube. The result is a symmetrical dial layout, which I like. The battery will last for 4-6 years with EOL indicator when battery needs replacing according to Traser. So, let's see how long would this one last in my collection. LOL :D

(Reference pic from the web)

And then its pretty much just for fun, I acquire a Casio G-Shock DW6100 with thermometer sensor. This is quite an unique model that has a history trend for temperature by the hour. I don't really plan on wearing it, and I pretty much just got it because I want to see how the temperature changes at night in my bedroom ... LOL :-)

And I am getting another small AA-powered flashlight Nitecore EZ AA revised edition. The output is only 130 lumen on high for 50 min and 10 lumen on low for 20 hrs. It got it for the small and simple factor, also the brightness is not control by PMV. I think I should unload my CR123 lights soon, cause my plan is to use only Eneloop batteries for my lights.

Well, I have been enjoy the LM-7. Its a great watch (and I got it at a great price). The bezel is not the greatest (hard to operate the bezel with one hand, and the clicks are not well defined), but its just a fun watch to wear. I really like the Ocean7 PloProf style rubber strap. I am going to try it with the bracelet (may be too heavy for my taste) and other 24mm leather straps soon.

LM-7 wrist shot

LM7 lume shot

Having given some thoughts on what I should get next, I made a few adjustment to my want-to-buy list. Rather than spending $10k for one watch, I think I should spread it out and may be get two $5k watches or three $3.3k ones:

• Rolex Submariner 11610 LV
  This may be the only sports Rolex so far that fits my criteria and my budget with decent lume.
  
• Rolex Submariner 14060M COSC
  For some reason I just can't get my mind off the simple and symmetrical dial, and the rich history of 14060 no date line up.
  
• Omega Seamaster Professional 300m co-axial blue Bond
  I had one, sold it, and now I want one again. I think this is one of the best match of my criteria for a dive watch.
  
• Panerai 111 or 112
  IF I got a 113, then I would think a 111 or 112 would be a nice mix for the bag because of the simple dial and better lume.
  
• Panerai 113
  Luminor case with white dial, lower production number and a black second hand, though the lume is not as good as the rest (i.e. 005, 111)
  
• Panerai 24
  A Luminor with diving bezel. I like the 25, but I would opt for the 24 because of the tougher stainless steel case.
  
• Casio G-Shock GW9110 Gulfman
  The upcoming new Solar Atomic Gulfman that has tide graph and moonphase, which I think is the Gulfman that Casio should have made in first place. Finally worthy of the name Gulfman and I am jumping the GW7900B ship and going to get the GW9110 instead.
  
• Dievas Vortex 500m Diver
  The case of the Dievas Vortex 500m Diver is identical to the multi-thousand dollar Kobold SMG-1. It has a nice simple no date dial, auto HEV, and diver timing bezel. I always like the SMG-1 but refuse to pay so much for a Kobold. The Dievas Vortex would fit my bills (literally) nicely. I still need to give it a try to see if the case size would work with my wrist size though.
  

Good-bye, Mr. Bond

Sad to say good-bye to Mr. Bond. I have sold my Black Bond (Omega SMP co-axial with black dial). Its a absolutely stunning watch to wear and to look at. Its just an awesome watch and Omega did a great job on keeping the SMP fresh. My only "complain" is that the blue lume is somewhat less bright than SL C3 that the blue Bond uses. Though the white appearance does looks great with the black dial during day light. Since I am a lume-freak, bright lume means something in my book. :p And I was in the process of changing up my collection, so the black Bond had to go. In the future, if I come across a deal with the blue Bond, then maybe I will snatch that instead.

While we are on the topic of the new blue lume from Omega, its giving me second thoughs on my "grail" -- the new 1200m PloProf. I really like the style of the watch (which the why I now have a Ocean7 LM-7), but the fact that the 1200m PloProf doesn't have the "brightest lume" bothers me somewhat. And when compared to the Ocean7 LM-7 (which used SL C3), the lume on the LM-7 is a lot brighter. Combined with the much (MUCH!) lower retail price on the watch itself, I just need to own the LM-7 for a while and see if I could "settle" for the LM-7 instead of the 1200m PloProf.

And recently, I can't take my mind off Panerai 233. It has the 1950 case style, 8-day GMT manual wind in-house movement with date, and a super dome sapphire crystal and display back. It retails around USD$12,000, which is "slightly" out of my price range right now. :p But man, that's a beautiful watch. I doubt I would shell out that much cash for one watch, but who knows?! Maybe something will push me over the edge and I might end up with one. :p (Come on, for one PAM 233, I could have any two of the following: PAM 111, PAM 24, PAM 25, Rolex SD, Rolex Sub LV, Rolex Sub ND COSC, Rolex GMT IIc, ... etc)

Ocean7 LM-7 Impression

The O7 LM-7 got here last week and I have a chance to give it some wrist time over the weekend. So far, I am liking the size of it. Its a big watch with a flat caseback and short lug to lug size, so it wears quite comfortable and quite manageable on smaller wrist size. Here's the measurement for the watch:

• cystral: 29mm
  
• bezel: 44mm
  
• 3-9 size: 54.5mm
  
• 12-6 (lug to lug) size: 45mm
  
• height: 14.5mm
  

I have handled quite a few Ocean7 watches before, and all of them has very well implimented bezel. The clicks are solid and firm with no side to side play. Well, unfortuniate its not the case on the LM-7. From other users' opinion online as well as my own experience, the clicks on the bezel is not well defined and the bezel has side to side play. So that takes away some kudo points from the watch. The bezel itself is locked via the button at the top right corner of the watch. One has to depress the button to unlock the bezel, which turns bi-directionally. The button action is a little stiff but it works as advertised. It works ok when you use both hands to operate the bezel lock and bezel. But its a little more difficult when the watch is on your wrist and you wish to turn the bezel with just one hand. The package comes with a red anodized and sliver brushed button to suit your taste.

Speaking of the bezel, one thing that's always going to be in the back of my mind is the durability of the bezel insert and the bezel lock. As a general rule of thumb, the more complicated it is, the more things that can go wrong in the long run. The bezel lock has a few moving parts and a spring. And the bezel insert has sapphire glass over (sealed and) lumed numbers. So there's always a certain questions of "what if", "how durable are they" and "can it be repaired if something goes wrong". Only time will tell. But since I am not paying a major premium for the watch. I wouldn't worry about it for now.

The dial is blue and the color itself changes when its hit by different lighting condition and intensity. I like the dial color so far. I have thought that I might like the black dial even better because its more tranditional and will work better with different strap colors. But it will also be too similar to the new 1200m PloProf. I think the blue color dial plays more homeage to the vintage Omega 600m PloProf.

The crown is over-sized and easy to operate. When unscrewed, there's no side to side play and each click is solid. Turn the crown to set the date and time is easy and has a nice direct feel to it.

The lume on the bezel numbers, hand and hr markers on the dial are Super Luminova (SL) C3. It appears light green in day light situation. But it shines (literally!) when the lights are out. I have "tested" the lume brightness and duration, and it easily last through 5AM. And I remember when I woke up to check the time at 5AM, I was thinking: "Man, this thing is BRIGHT." Beside the brightness of the lume itself, its also got something to do with the fact that there are so many things that "lights up", including the numbers on the bezel. Its really a joy to look at in the dark (after the lume are charged).

The Ocean7 PloProf style strap is comfortable to wear. And I am happy to report that the strap fits smaller wrist size very well. The LM-7 has a bracelet option. I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect its going to make the watch a little too heavy for my taste. Maybe I will try that later on (if I ever get bored with the rubber straps and other leather strap options).

The lugs are 24mm. So besides the OEM bracelet and PloProf style rubber strap, you will have no problem finding a wide varity of thick leather strap that will work with the watch. LM-7 uses O7's own thick spring bars. The drilled lug holes will make changing straps a manageable task.

Conclusion: I think the LM-7 is a fun watch to wear and you will notice people stare at it from time to time. The style is quite unique. If you like the PloProf style but doesn't want to shell out major cash for one (the other two choices are vintage Omega 600m PloProf and the new Omega 1200m PloProf co-axial, either one will cost you some pretty pennies), the LM-7 is definitely the one for you. The watch is far from being perfect, with the less-than-precise bezel action, bezel play, unproven durability of the bezel insert and bezel lock mechanisme. But the "price to fun-to-wear" ratio is high on this model.

I have a few things that I like this the LM-7 better than the new 1200m PloProf(!), which are the much (MUCH!) low cost, the use of SL C3 (brighter is better) and the drilled lugs holes. The 1200m PloProf is still my grail, but if the LM-7 can satisfy my thirst of a PloProf (style watch), then I can allocate my funds to the next "grail on my list" :p LOL

Good things come in group of five?

So my five watches arrived already. And here's my initial thoughts:

• Ocean7 LM-7 1000m
  
  I know I *almost* sworn I would not get a LM-7 because the new Omega SMP Ploprof 1200m with co-axial 8500 movement is out. BUT ... I changed my mind when I came around a fine sample of LM-7 at a very attractive price. I still think the new Omega Ploprof is my grail and wish to own one someday. May be this LM-7 will be my "test drive" for the size and feel of wearing it.
  
  So on to the LM-7. This package came with both the black Ploprof style rubber strap and Ocean7's "5 links" bracelet. I haven't tried it on the bracelet yet, but the rubber strap match the watch really well. I do have to say that the fit and finish is not up to par with Omega's offering, but the price tag is not USD$9000 either. :p The LM-7's bezel lock button is a little stiff, making it difficult, if not impossible to use the bezel with just one hand or with the watch on the wrist. And in both locked and unlocked positive, the bezel is some side to side play on it. Its not horrible, but its not great neither. Keep in mind again, I am not paying USD$9000 for it ... LOL :p
  
  The sapphire bezel is nice to look at, and the lumed markers are great. Its not as detail nor clean as the new Omega Ploprof. And one thing I worry about is the reliability of the bezel insert, from bubbling, or how the bezel insert is going to handle water in the long run, etc. But I figure at the price that I paid for it, I can live with the *risk*. For the price of the new Omega Ploprof, I would expect it to least at least 15-20 years without any degrading.
  
  The size of the LM-7 is good. The short lug-to-lug size makes it easy to wear for my wrist size. The watch is large, but doesn't feel overly large. But if I wear the watch tight, then the crown at 9 will dig into my wrist. Luckily, I don't like wearing my watch tight any way.
  
  The crown is large and easy to use, smooth screwing in and out of the crown tube. The Swiss Sellita SW200 movement is smooth to wind. I haven't check the timing of it yet.
  
  The lume *seems* to be good. I haven't really do a lume test on it yet. But I expect it to last through the night with ease.
  
  One thing I do like the LM-7 over the new Omega Ploprof is that the LM-7 has drilled lugs. that makes changing strap much easier.
  
  
• Marathon SAR
  
  This is my "I-don't-even-remember-how-many" Marathon SAR and I am certainly famility with it. After all these time (I guess since 2001 of its introduction), I still think its one of the best value in dive watches. It has all the goodies you want from a dive watch that's user friendly (and I don't even dive!): WR300M, sapphire crystal, large easy to use crown for winding (when dry), tall and easy to use bezel, easy tell the time, great lume, drilled lugs for easy bracelet to dive strap change, diver's extension on bracelet clasp. The watch and bracelet feels solid and its just a joy to wear.
  
  
• Casio G-Shock GW056CJ
  
  I had the GW056 before and I really liked the slim profile and size of it. But I wished for a reversed LCD for a stealthy look but unfortuniately, that's not available for US version of the GW056. This GW056CJ is a JDM 2006 special edition. It has a dark grey case and strap, and very stealthy reversed LCD. The matter in fact, I think the reversed LCD is too stealthy and now I am a little worried about the "viewability" of the time during less-than-optium lighting. Luckily, the duration of the auto-EL is adjustable and it can be set up to 3 second to make it easier to read the time. Besides the reversed LCD, having only 60 min for both STW and CDT is the thing that worries me and may push me into letting it go later. But time will tell.
  
  
• Casio G-Shock G9000-8V Storm Trooper
  
  I got this one as an inpulse buy cause of the great deal. I expect it to be a beater and I will use it as one. You just never know when you will need TWO 1000hr chronograph. :-)
  
  
• Casio G-Shock GW810D (SS bracelet + reversed LCD)
  
  I bought this one at a beater price, and it sure looks like a beater when it arrives. That's fine cause I am not going to baby this one neither ... LOL :p
  

When it trains, it pours (so to speak ... )

With the available funs from the sales of my Milgauss last week. Continuing with the mindset of staying with poor-men's watches, I bought three watches over the weekend (two days). That makes more than one watch per day (1.5 watches per day :p ). And two of them are "re-purchase":

• Ocean7 LM-7 - I know I did say I would not buy one because of the fear of future company support for the watch. But I finally came across a deal that I would consider taking that risk.
  
• casio G-Shock GW056CJ - Its a 2006 special edition with reverse LCD. I liked the GW056 becase of the low flat profile, but the down side of it is the 60 min STW and CDT respectively.
  
• Casio G-Shock GW810D (reversed LCD) - I had one of these before. I modded it with the GWM850 module. Though the GWM850 module has better feature, I never liked the look of it. I eventally sold the moddod G and moved on. I found this GW810D at a beater price, so I might as well get it and use it as a beater. :-)
  

I am sure there's more to come :D