PAM 232.. to buy or not to buy?

[Shade]

Thanks Mik , heart, there's just something about the tobacco dial..

[ocwatching]

Damn Norman! Great shots! I may have to put up a WANT TO BUY ad!
Looks sweet!

[Shade]

Thanks Phil! You know I was seriously considering modding the 210. I have a friend who did it on his 183 and I must say it looks great in person.

So yesterday I invited my friend with golden hands 183 and I compared it directly to the 232. There were two things that immediately caught my attention..

First was the radiomir panerai letters. On the 210 they were seperated, one on top and one on the bottom. On the 232 they stack together which I think makes it look neater and less busy overall. Also the colour of the fonts are actually in a more vintage shade compared to those on the 183 or 210, whilst they have white coloures font, the 232 is in beige.

Second was the tobacco dial. Actually I find the tobacco dial on this version less brown than the new versions.. Such as the 351-352, while I owned one before, the combination with golden hands is stunning, but the new tobacco dial imho is more pronounced and is in a redder brown tint. Dont get me wrong, its neither good nor bad, just different. The one on 232 however, is more of a grey-ish brown tint, the brown is actually less visible, even under the sun. Hence giving it a more faded vintage look, which matches the letterings perfectly.

Those two differences literally made me give in. Mik's 210 an my friend's 183 with golden hands are very nice example of a modded watch. But compared to the 232, no offense, but I find the 232 much more appealing. I know the differences are trivial at best, but as a watch maniac, these differences may count. The only drawback is actually the size, at 47mm, its not a huge watch, but slightly larger than what I think is proper. 45mm is probably the best suited size for me.

Cheers!

[ocwatching]

Norman,

I am happy for you man! I know you were contemplating the modded 210 and during this whole process..I wanted to ask you...

what draws you to do the mod? one can do whatever he wants with his watch but what made you want to mod? the gold hands? or was the mod an attempt to take the place of the 232?

If its the latter, I was going to push you to buy the 232 as we all have been down this road and only the ONE can make us happy...

well..congrats again! I know you made the right choice...

[Shade]

Phil, thanks for the kind support.

What draws me to the modded 210 eh? The gold hands is the main reason, and size comes second. As I said, despite being wearable at 47mm, its not at the size I wouldve liked better.

However, as I also said before, there were two differences of the 232 that cant be mimicked by any sort of mod.