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.