Review of Getat Luminor Panerai Homage

As promised in the last post, here is the review of the Getat Luminor homage which I received recently! Before we start, here are the specifications of my build again:

- Case Style: 44mm Luminor
- Dial: Sterile black dial

- Buckle Style: Pre-V

- Case Option: Brushed steel

- Dial Lume: Super-LumiNova C3

- Crystal Material: Sapphire

- Hands Color: Black with white seconds

- Hands Lume: Super-LumiNova C3

- Movement: Normal stainless steel

- Stitch Color: White

- Strap Option: Vintage wooden brown

I later changed the buckle for the premium style buckle as you will see in the pictures later. Allow me to also show you the timeline of events again.

21st June - Order placed, invoice received and paid for immediately

10th July - Tracking number received

23rd July - Tracking number starts working, status: "Item has been posted and is being processed."

24th July - Status: "The item is being processed for departure from Hong Kong."

25th July - Status: "The item left Hong Kong for its destination."

31st July - Status: "The item arrived at its destination country."

2nd August - Status: "Item was delivered."

From order to delivery, it took exactly six weeks for the watch to reach me. This is within the expected range of ordering from Getat, so I wasn't exactly lucky or unlucky. There are some lucky few who receive their orders in as fast as three weeks,  and unfortunately, some unlucky people who had to wait for as long as three months to receive their watches. As you can see, it's very much a luck of the draw thing.

If you do not have the patience of waiting months for your watch, all is not lost as there are a number of other sellers out there offering the same watch basically. Jackson Tse or Manbushijie (make sure to sign up to enjoy lower prices!) are reliable sellers who have the added benefit of being more responsive to your emails, unlike Getat, but keep in mind that neither of them will offer nearly as many customization options as Getat does. If you want customization, you'll have to wait.

As mentioned, this watch is an homage. It takes all of its aesthetic cues from the Luminor line of watches from Panerai. Some people are definitely going to have an issue with this but this is not what we are here for today!

Before we get on with the review, here are some things about the price to take notice of. Inclusive of the 10% summer sale which Getat was having for the month of June, I paid US$126 for the watch and later made a further payment of US$9 to Getat for the premium buckle, for a total of US$135. My conjecture is that the margins made on each watch is not very high, so there will be a certain amount of suspect QC especially when you consider that this is a custom job. You will be disappointed if you go nitpicking on a Getat watch with a loupe.

Now, onto the watch itself. The case which I ordered was a Luminor style stainless steel in a brushed finishing. It feels solid and has quite a good amount of heft to it. A surprisingly good quality case overall. For just an extra US$18, one can upgrade from mineral to sapphire crystal; a choice I took without having to think. The crystal is also slightly domed although there doesn't seem to be any form of AR coating on the crystal, but it does not really bother me.

Panerai is of course well-known for the sandwich dial, which is basically a dial split into two layers; top and bottom. The sandwich dial is present on the Getat, and is unique in that it is negatively textured; a fresh and refreshing departure from the usual textured dial.

Flipping it over to the back, you can see the nicely decorated Sea-Gull ST36 movement through the mineral crystal display back, beating away at 21600 BPH. There seem to be some who have gotten Hangzhou 9000 movements in their watches, but as far as I could see, I've identified mine to be a Sea-Gull ST36 movement. I came across a guide here which may be of help to you in identifying whether your movement is a Sea-Gull or a Hangzhou.

The movement is nicely adorned with blued screws (most probably chemically treated), swan neck regulator (although for decoration only as the screw isn't even touching the adjustment lever and is too short to actually work), Panerai-esque bridges, and Geneva Stripes which was of course, applied in China. I'm not complaining though, it is a pretty movement and I have no qualms at all that the decorations were applied by machine.

Further observation needs to be done to determine the accuracy at the moment, although it has kept time to the minute within a 24-hour span (It's hard to keep track of accuracy when the smallest division is five minutes!).

* Update *

Timekeeping has been absolutely fantastic so far, this watch seems to be losing one second every 24 hours! On a full wind which equates to a 57 hour power reserve, this watch lost just 3 seconds, simply fantastic!

We come to the crown guard, persistently an area of weakness for Luminor homages. The crown guard snaps back with a nice amount of tension but I can't foretell whether the amount of tension will remain tight and firm with frequent usage. When flipped out, the lever is quite floppy as many others have experienced. I'm fine with it personally as long as it's firm while locked in place. The dial moves a little when the crown is pulled out to time set mode, it is of no real issue to me but it serves to remind of the sometimes suspect QC that homage dealers are capable of.

I shall update this portion further after more rigorous usage has been observed regarding the crown lever but it is satisfactory for now. I should add that I wouldn't trust taking this watch anywhere near water as the crown guard assembly on these Panerai homages are to replicate the crown guard aesthetically, and not functionally.

I did mention my satisfaction with the lume on this watch in my previous post, although I left it to this review to determine the better of the two (as compared with the Kemmner Turtle). Fortunately, the C3 lume on my watch was applied clean and evenly, as some people had the misfortune of specks of dirt on the lume. It would seem that the Kemmner Turtle and the Getat are neck to neck in terms of lume intensity and longevity. Overall, the lume on Getat is very good; it wouldn't beat a Seiko Monster or SKX007/009, but doesn't lose by much too.

Moving over to the strap, I should add that this is an area where I was really pleased with. It is really thick and chunky, and the stitching is nothing short of fantastic. I really have to applaud Getat on the stitching, it is nice, clean and even. The strap has a good leather scent too, I can't find any fault with it really, good quality all-around! As you will see in the picture above, I opted for the premium buckle which is a monster of a buckle. Both strap and buckle really puts some additional weight on this watch. The buckle is screw-in type, and costs US$10 when paired with a strap/watch. This really puts some sellers of Panerai strap buckles to shame considering they sell similar buckles, only for US$30 or more.

+ Good overall build quality

+ Good lume

+ Nicely decorated movement

+ Excellent strap and buckle

+ Fantastic price

- Floppy crown lever

- Somewhat poor QC (Dial moves when crown pulled out issue)

- Waiting times

- Poor communication

The floppy crown lever and dial movement issue are minor to me, but I'll just put them as cons for the discerning buyer. There are some things one has to be ready for when buying from Chinese homage dealers; it may not always happen but be prepared for poor communication, long wait times and unfortunately from time to time, poor workmanship. 

Granted, $100+ is not a lot of money, but neither is it small change. It certainly is quite a lot to ask of potential buyers to expect the worst right from the moment payment is made. I myself wish that I could expect a certain guaranteed level of quality but sadly, this is just the way homage makers operate. Ordering from Getat is not an experience that everyone can tolerate, but if you can, then you are ready to make your foray into the homage scene!

In conclusion, I was fortunate enough to receive my watch in good order from Getat. The watch (less the service) has made me a satisfied customer of his and I foresee myself placing more orders with him, although the long waiting times and the sometimes shoddy build quality leave something to be desired. So that's it for the review of the Getat Luminor homage, thank you for reading!

Finally, the Arrival of Getat!

It wasn't five days ago I was still getting really riled up with our dear Getat. His lack of unresponsiveness and irresponsibility gives one the impression that he puts his watchmaking business behind everything else. Maybe he does, I don't know, but what I do know is that when Getat wishes to deliver, he can and will in a big way!

Of course, this drastic change in my impression of him has to have a reason behind; his watch was finally delivered today! Without further ado, enjoy these quick and dirty cell phone pictures!

A full review will come soon, meanwhile here are some initial impressions. Case is nicely machined and impressively finished with a nice brushed finishing all over. Caseback has a few rough edges, but they are nothing major. One of my initial concerns was that the crown guard would be really floppy, but I guess those worries can be put to rest as it is really nice and firm!

Moving on, the lume on this is really quite good! It is at the very least on par with the Kemmner Turtle, although I will have to conduct further observation to determine the better of the two. Lastly, let's get to the strap. It's thick and chunky, and although this isn't your Jules Verne or Ted Su strap, I think this strap will hold its own just fine. In a word, nice!

All this, for the price of a mid-range made-to-order strap. 

Getat is slow and unresponsive, his QC can be shoddy at times, and other times he would get orders done wrongly. Yet, when Getat wishes to deliver, he will impress you. Not forgetting that this watch costed all of US$131, let's just say I am really pleased with this watch. Final verdict, the wait was worth it.

So that's it, I hope you have enjoyed reading today's entry! 

Review of Seiko SNDC87P2

It's time for a review, and the watch in question today is the Seiko SNDC87P2 quartz chronograph, which runs on the 7T92 calibre. The P refers to the type of strap which it came with, and the P2 variant is a black crocodile-embossed leather strap. This watch has 20mm lugs and is 40mm in diameter (without the crown), a nice size when everything seems to be at least 42mm these days. It features a Hardlex mineral crystal and a solid screw case back. The crowns and pushers are not screw-down but still the watch achieves a water resistance of 100m.

Firstly, a little background on how I acquired this particular piece. I bought this watch late last year as a present for a friend, way before I was a WIS. Looks like it never really did click with him because he proposed a trade last week; this watch for the birthday present I got last year, and that's how this watch ended up in my hands.

I still remember why I chose this watch as a gift. The splash of red on the crown and the chronograph hands accentuated the plain and simple white dial. I found it attractive even before I was a WIS and thought that my friend might too. Unfortunately that would not be the case but let's carry on with the review!

Lume shot - Rather sparse, but forgivable as this isn't a dive watch

So, we've established that I find this watch aesthetically pleasing but what of it's quality? I'm afraid that's where this watch doesn't live up to expectations. It might be hard to see from the photo but the dial is actually a sunburst dial, with all three subdials featuring a different sunburst effect from the main dial. The chapter ring is numbered one to twelve in a squarish modern font with a lume dot for each hour.

All the materials used in the dial suffer from one common problem; plastic construction, and it shows whenever you look at the dial. The dial and chapter ring look plasticky no matter the angle you try to view it from. The sunburst is a bane rather than a boon; only serving to bring the plasticky feel out more prominently than to display the interesting show of lights that sunburst dials were meant to achieve.

I got this watch at US$110 so I'm not expecting a guilloche dial but this watch would really benefit if the dial was executed in a dark color with a matte finish. Something like that would hide the plasticky look of well... plastic dials.

Case finishing is what you frequently hear about Seiko; very good for the price. The sides are finished with a polish and the top surfaces brushed. No machining marks could be found so that gets a thumbs up. Overall, the case is excellent and has a level of finish you wouldn't expect in a watch priced like this.

It comes with a crocodile-embossed leather strap which isn't pictured in this post. It puts the watch more towards dress, and would be if the sunburst dial was actually executed properly. However, considering the rather cheesy sunburst dial and the squarish, modern looking fonts on the chapter ring, this watch is left a bit directionless, not dress yet a little too formal given it's strap to be a sport watch.

There is not a whole lot to write about the 7T92 calibre. It's a basic quartz chronograph which keeps and records time well. There is a hand position adjustment mode in case the chronograph hands ever go out of alignment, which may be useful if ever the need arises.

Conclusion

The design elements are a bit incohesive and could have been done better but quality and construction is quite good, with the exception of the dial. This is a decent watch overall, but look elsewhere first before buying this watch for Seiko has better quartz chronographs.

Haze

 

I've been very busy lately, I promise a bigger update for the next post! Anyway, here's the wrist shot of the day, featuring the Seiko SKX245.

Finding Backgrounds

I've been trying to find new backgrounds to create some interesting shots recently and these are the results. Enjoy the pictures!

The Complete Collection

I finally consolidated and took pictures of the collection today! It's been my wish to share my collection ever since this blog was made but I never quite got to it. Before we start however, I apologize for the poor picture quality as these were taking under harsh, artificial lighting once again so the picture quality leaves something to be desired. Now, without further ado, I present to you the complete collection!
 

Casio F91W - This watch has served me well throughout my army days and has seen everything; from firing rifles to tear gas training. Unfortunately the strap became brittle and broke off after not wearing it for some time.

Vintage Pagol - This watch was my grandfather's and holds a lot of history. This watch is easily two times my age and still works like a charm. No quickset date on this watch but one can easily change the date by going back and forth from 9PM to 12AM!

Vintage Norexa in the middle, vintage Humark on left and right - Not much is known about these watches. They were passed to me by my Dad and he said that watches with such bracelets were in trend back then.

Vintage Snogem - Same type of watch as the ones above. Sadly, the bracelet could not be found.

Vintage Tudor - A boy sized Tudor Oyster, it is somewhere around three decades old. The screw down crown is a pleasure to use despite it's age.

Vintage Vulcain Cricket - This is an interesting piece; my one and only mechanical alarm and it is quite effective at its job! Rings quite loudly for about 20 seconds which should wake up all but the heaviest of sleepers.

Casio MQ24-7E - This may be the cheapest watch in my collection but I absolutely love it. Clean, simple and understated; a watch at its most basic, and the result is fantastic.

Kemmner Turtle - Lots have been said about this watch already, read my review on it for more information!

Sterile Submariner Homage - Assembled from a case set from Sizzlin' Watches with an ETA 2824-2 ticking inside. Makes for a good, reliable beater.

Octo

FCUK - This was a gift for one of my birthdays, way before I was a WIS so I didn't mind that it was a 'fashion watch'. The original leather strap it came on was in a really bad condition at the time of this photo so I swapped it out for a olive green five ring ZULU strap. This is what I love about universal lug widths.

Seiko 5 SNK807

Seiko S-Wave SKX245

 

As always, I hope you have enjoyed reading today's post and thank you for reading!

Dear Getat...

The more I look at these Getat Panerai homages, the more I want one. These watches are just dead sexy, and I should add that they come at a very reasonable price too. I don't think I'll ever buy the real Panerai even if I could afford one; why when there's Getat!? 

Jokes aside, I don't think I'd blow that kind of money on a watch, at least for now! Recently, I've been thinking of getting a G-Shock DW5600E-1V as my next watch but it looks like that'll have to wait until after I get a Getat homage. Of course, pictures of the watches in question shall ensue.

First, one of the G-Shock DW5600E-1V:

And next, a couple of the Getat homages:

 

(Pictures credit of various Watchuseek members)
 

Hopefully I'll own a Getat in the coming months. That's it for today, thank you for reading!

Wrist Check

Red.

Let's Do It Properly

I tried taking watch photos with a more professional setup today. I think they turned out pretty well, a huge step up from the previous attempts as I received some help on the lighting and composition of the shots; so good in fact that I think they're getting somewhere close to being comparable with those of established watch review websites. Enjoy the pictures!

 

Moar Bokeh

Remember when I said this blog was also about photography? Well, now you will. I told myself that I would pick up photography but I kept putting it off. After almost a year of procrastination, I started! Enjoy the pictures, I promise I'll keep working on my photography skills.