The Pinch
Now this is a quick follow up to my previous review of the Pagani Design PD-1644. I had bought the watch with the intent of modding it. I had also taken the watch apart and measure the dial size, just to be on the safe side. I found and ordered a replacement dial, sure that I could reuse the watch hands.
Everything worked as planned, until I tried to reassemble the watch. The vertical alignment didn't seem quite right. I was able to get the crown stem in, but it was under more tension than seemed normal. Well, after a short inspection I found the issue (see grey arrows):
The indices were just a little further outward on the same size of dial than the ones on the Pagani Design dial, and prevented the dial from being fully seated. (The dial itself fit perfectly into the case.) And yet another lesson learned, similar to my 2824-clone modding: As soon as you deviate from NH35 parts, you will find all kinds of variations.
I'm now torn whether I should keep the movement and order a kit, or simply extend my search of dials. I'm not quite ready to surrender yet, and put the Pagani dial back in the case.
The Upside
I was a little apprehensive about placing the chrono-minute and 24-hr-indicator subdial hands, which need to be aligned during assembly. That turned out to be quite easy. Vertical clearance, which is apparently an issue on chronos, was also not a problem.
So, there is most likely more to come ...
All those details make my head hurt...
The replacement dial has finally arrived, and it fits the case nicely. The new handset was a mixed bag, with the hands for the subdials not fitting. (too large in diameter)
While it irks me to put a logo on the dial, it's not a Pagani anymore .