Is a Pagani Design really that waterproof as that they claim. Let’s reality test it 🏊🏼

I own one Pagani (PD1701v3) and love it for what it is, and that is, a decent, budget-priced Speedmaster homage. Pagani's BB58 homage has been tempting me for a couple of years now ... dunno how much longer I can hold out!! 😮 LOL!! 😎

I have a Pagani tiffany Rolex rip-off and have worn it in the water with no issues whatsoever. Other than the band that has issues with the clasp, it's a great watch.

My brother had an early 90's Omega (authentic) seamaster diver with a screw down crown and depth rating that leaked like a sieve and Omega wouldn't repair it under warranty, claiming it was his fault for not securing the crown properly (false).

Due to that, I actually tend to have more faith in the water resistance of cheap watches. If I'm wrong, replacement is cheaper than the cost of servicing an expensive watch.

If it breaks you can always get 100 more for the same price. They might even give you a discount for buying in bulk🤣

Most affordable dive style watches nowadays handle water just fine. I wouldn't go 200M, but the deep end of the pool won't be a problem in general. Just make sure to screw down the crown

Good points. And this shows why something like the Omega moon story is sales gold. No Chinese microbrand can beat that on specs alone.

Same goes for movie placements.

My first Pagani Design is on the way! I can't wait!

My understanding is that the Swiss started out making fakes of French and British watches. And, over time, they professionalized, and with the advent of the French Revolution and prohibitively expensive British labor cost, Swiss watchmaking became a thing.

The Chinese started out with mostly fakes and homages, but are beginning to do some incredible stuff. I have no doubt that if they keep moving along their current upward trajectory, some years from now, we'll all be buying high end Chinese luxury watches alongside our Rolexes, Omegas, and IWCs.

@Gasanche didn’t you freeze your Pagani?

@minutemeg I did! The homage of the explorer. I froze it in water and then thawed it out in a hot shower and it works fine. The only thing is small parts of the bracelet might not live up to hard wear and tear. I've had pins and screws come out on their own. But basically a well designed case with a seiko movement.

I bought a Pagani years ago (homage of a Tag I think?). Wore it daily in all conditions and it was great. After about 8 years it kept stopping. Spoke to a watch maker about giving it a service and he explained the cost of a service was about twice the cost of a new Pagani.

That had me searching Amazon and YouTube and led me to my Invicta Pro-Diver.......then I got a beautiful 1960s Omega Seamaster..........then I got my Dad's old Seikos serviced (the Pagani had replaced them when they stopped working)...............then I saw the rabbit hole..........................I got a bit closer, just to peek in you understand?............................then I just dove straight in, no safety line and 18 months later I have bought more watches than I've sold but am slowly taking back control. I have my keepers. I have the ones to sell. I'm waiting for two more to arrive and I have 4 with the watch maker.

Am I ill?😜

Well now that I know of the PD1701v3, I may revise my stance on never having a “moonwatch.” 🤔

But I do seem to have a growing collection of meca-quartz movements… 😉

Thanks for posting!

Brilliant post! I'm eventually going to get a PD (or multiple?) and glad someone did the test.

I had a Citizen years ago that failed this test, so well done Pagani!

“Making good watches is not that difficult anymore”

But making good design apparently still is.

An art enthusiast walks into a room and sees a print (copy) of a Rembrandt painting, he says “wow, Rembrandt was incredible.” He walks into a room and sees an original Rembrandt, he just says “wow.” It’s not only about the cost — that’s not what this hobby should be about; and to pre-empt the lazy “snob” arguments, there’s just as much joy to be found in my £60 Casio Illuminator as there is in my £100 Junkers, as there is in my £120 Citizen Skyhawk, as there in in my £450 Tissot, as there is in my £5K Aqua Terra, as there is in my £6K PO, as there is in my £10K Batman. Okay, maybe not the Aqua Terra.

In my opinion San Martin makes really good original designs with the exact same quality standards as his copies; it says more about the original brands that the San Martin/Pagani consumer base still choose their blatant copies over their originals. Just sayin’.

In the end, these are all just pieces of metal and unimportant in the grand scheme of things so do you and be happy 🍻

3, 2, 1, …

No, you are one of us. 🤣

😎

I agree and the original / the original design is still the preffered choice, but due to the pricing these days (like the Rembrandt :-) for most people impossible to buy.

Of course you are correct in regards of the design part. But most iconic design are made between 75 and 50 years ago (AP / Genta, Rolex, Porsche 911, Levis 5 pocket jeans) and it looks like there is not much NEW design left in us. All we do (every brand, is a version of the original design) nothing 100% new.

So what could be is left is the art, the craft of watchmaking, but that has become just plain engineering too as proven by the Chinees competition. Everybody can make a good watch.

So new 100% original design is out, the art of watchmaking is out .... what is left?

For the TOP brands just there luxury positioning and what is means for people to own that watch, that brand.

I think just the joy of a beautiful time piece that can you affort and give you joy the way you want to use it.

Beautiful hobby isn't it! And again your right it is just an hobby nothing world changing. Just enjoy the piece of tech on your wrist that accompanies you where every you wish to go ....

:-) and for me is that in the water :-)

“…it looks like there is not that much new design left in us…”

As a designer myself, I disagree. Companies like San Martin and Pagani do have original designs — people just aren’t buying them, so they rely on copies to make income; the CEO of San Martin himself said as much recently.

But even putting the “100% original” argument aside, nobody is saying produce only 100% original designs, that’s not the issue. Homage watches are perfectly fine, but you’re confusing a homage and a copy — they are not the same thing. A copy lifts everything from another, it’s plagiarism. A homage is inspired by and uses some elements to iterate on. A homage is done with respect to, not in spite of. Big difference. Baltic GMTs, Lorier GMTs, and the Steinhart Titanium GMT are all perfect examples of homages. Pagani Batman GMTs are copies/knock-offs…the only thing separating them from the originals is a logo swap most of the time.

If cost was the issue, there are plenty of excellent watches at affordable price points — including from San Martin (I’m highlighting them specifically because I do like their original designs). It’s not because you want a great Chinese watch — it’s because you want a Seiko, Rolex, Omega, or Patek.

But do you brother, and be happy — just own it, don’t rationalize it; in the end what’s important is that the watch makes you happy. Cheers 🍻

I think you may have missed my point. I’m going to exit the convo after this because in honestly am not bothered by what another man chooses to spend their money on, I was just giving another valid viewpoint to the OP’s rationale as I have strong views on the topic from an ethical standpoint and I think it’s a lazy cop-out to ignore that and simply label anyone against knock-offs a ‘snob’.

I’ll preface this by saying that there is a distinction between an homage (eg: Baltic) and a knockoff (eg: Pagani), and that I’m ignoring the other ethical issues such as the sweatshop factories some of these things are produced in.

I do agree that watch pricing is getting out of hand, however the topic of knockoffs is not about cost no matter how you slice it. The CEO of San Martin himself lamented the fact that his original designs don’t sell — his knockoffs do, and that’s the only reason he keeps making them. That’s straight from the horse’s mouth. Ergo: his customers don’t want San Martin’s designs — they want the designs of the luxury brands he plagiarises. If it was really about price or quality then there is an abundance of both true homages and great original designs out there for slightly more, the same or less than you’d pay for a knockoff.

Saying one goes to Pagani first without a care for the luxury brands is the equivalent of an ostrich burying its head in the sand: everyone knows that Pagani sells knockoffs of luxury brands so going there as a first point-of-call makes no difference. That’s like going to a replica factory to shop around — even if you didn’t know exactly what you want to get, you know you’re still going to be walking out with a replica. And in the case of San Martin, they even helpfully name each watch after the original.

My using the Rembrandt example which you referenced and the deliberate phrasing ‘art enthusiast’ was to illustrate two points: firstly that it depends on the audience. The general public or someone who doesn’t really appreciate art would still find a print of a beautiful painting attractive, but an art enthusiast will still look at that print in reference to the original. An art enthusiast will find more to admire, be engaged in with, and be enthusiastic about in the original…no matter how much more it cost than the print. Likewise most of the public won’t know the difference between a Pagani and a Rolex, but horology enthusiasts would, and it would make a difference. The second point was in regard to the OP talking about ‘cost’, where I was making a point about ‘value’: the cost of of producing an original painting, including materials can be on average 5 to 15 bucks. Most original paintings by good artists will be selling for many multiples of that, and if it’s an iconic artist, in the thousands to hundreds of thousands. And if it’s a Rembrandt, … . That long spiel was simply to illustrate that there’s a difference between cost and value; the casual watch fan or someone who couldn’t care less might find value in a Pagani Batman knockoff, but a watch enthusiast would find more value in a Timex Q GMT homage, Seiko 5 GMT homage, Baltic Aquascaphe GMT homage, or an original Batman.

But as I’ve said repeatedly, be happy and wear your watch in good health. I only speak up when a replica/knockoff owner tries validating their purchase by disparaging an original and offer counter points, or when it’s a topic of general discussion. Apologies for the long chat, these things often end up much longer than I expect 😅.

Have a good weekend buddy!