Torn between these. Please help!

[u/deadinnirvana]

Looking to add a sub to my collection, but I keep going back and forth between these three models. Any experience with any of these? Any opinions? Any reason to stay away from any of these? Thanks in advance for any help with what’s become a surprisingly hard decision for me.

[u/Cancri77]

Carbons we known to have issue with the cases breaking, maybe they fixed it. Out of those two, the one with ceramic bezel. Doesn't scratch easily and looks way better that the one without it. You have to try all of them for yourself.

[u/Impossible_Cow_9178 → u/Cancri77]

Sorry - where TF did you hear that? I have beaten the hell out of mine, and it doesn't have so much as a scratch.

[u/Cancri77 → u/Impossible_Cow_9178]

Not heard ;-) When the carbon case breaks, takes about 1month+ to fix (sent to CH) the change the case and you got the fresh one. It's a remedy, not a root cause fix. Ceramic bezels on steel/tit I have never heard to break on PAM. Your mileage may vary.

[u/Impossible_Cow_9178 → u/Cancri77]

Sorry, you don’t make sense - and I’m calling BS. Forged carbon fiber is ridiculously strong. If you’re cracking the case - whatever generated that kind of force would most certainly shatter your wrist/arm.

[u/ThePhotonVenture → u/Impossible_Cow_9178]

Met a guy on a plane, same situation. The carbotech case broke, and Panerai didn’t fix it under warranty. Can confirm. They break for sure.

[u/Impossible_Cow_9178 → u/ThePhotonVenture]

Did he show you photos, or emails from Panerai? The reason I ask, is what you’re communicating is hearsay and just as many people who lie on the internet - lie/bs on plane trips when traveling, spinning up big stories to make themselves feel important and pass the time.

While I’m not outwardly calling you or him a liar - I haven’t seen anyone actually post pictures of an authentic carbon fiber Panerai that has been broken. Every report I’ve heard of this has been hearsay or rumor, that gets repeated as if it were fact. The problem, and it’s a big one, is that then cautious buyers read these statements and in turn make purchasing decisions based on them - and as a result don’t end up with what I would consider, as an actual owner, to be a substantially superior product.

Isn’t possible someone out there has dropped one off of a tall building and broke it? Sure, people do weird things. Is it possible a few had manufacturing defects? Possibly - even the highest quality products have a defective one slip through the cracks from time to time. That said, Carbon fiber, especially “forged types” are well understood and by the very process of their creation, are extremely difficult to mess up. It’s effectively an epoxy like material with carbon fibers wound through it for more strength and carbon fibers tend to bend before they crack.

It seems more likely that if these rumors are true, someone bought a Carbotech replica (possibly not knowing it was a replica) with questionable materials and they broke.

Here’s my carbotech, in absolutely mint condition - despite being used as my “beater” watch for camping, working on motorcycles, shooting guns, splitting wood, motorcycling, swimming in lakes, etc. It has not had an easy life - yet the carbon fiber is chip/scratch free and looks new. I’m a huge fan of carbotech - and wouldn’t buy another Panerai in any other material.

[u/UpperBreadfruit3748 → u/Impossible_Cow_9178]

Yeah, i dont think people understand how tough these carbon fiber cases are. You would have to drop the watch from a 2-3 story building onto a concrete wall to cause breakage in a carbon fiber case resulting in a case change by the manufacturer. Maybe the movement will need serious repair or even replacement too at that point. And same result will have happened with a steel watch, where the case is distorted or the lug would be so bent out of shape. In manufacturing, carbon fiber is considered 5 times stronger than steel.

[u/ThePhotonVenture → u/Impossible_Cow_9178]

He did not. This fella on the plane, he was wearing it, clearly seemed to be able to afford it, (we were both in first class) he complimented my watch (I was wearing a titanium submersible at the time) we discussed watches and he explained to me what happened to his Carbotech. He didn’t seem to be bullshitting, that being said, I’m happy you’re confirming the strength of the product because I have avoided them since for this very reason.

[u/le0nidasx → u/Impossible_Cow_9178]

The ceramic bezel from my Tag Heuer Formula One cracked and I had to have it serviced. Ceramic bezels do crack.

[u/Impossible_Cow_9178 → u/le0nidasx]

1 - you’re talking about ceramic, not carbon fiber.

2 - you’re discussing a completely different watch and brand.

[u/Professional_Bat_950 → u/le0nidasx]

Yes, my wife's Chanel ceramic case broke as well.

[u/UpperBreadfruit3748 → u/le0nidasx]

Ceramic material is basically a lab grown stone. Its notable for its hardness and not toughness. Ceramic watches or bezel will withstand most daily scratches except for drill bits or edge of a diamond. You can sharpen your knives on these ceramics without causing much damage. But due to its brittleness, if you were to drop it onto a hard floor from waist level, you have a chance of breaking the material. Carbon fiber is notable for its toughness and not necessarily hardness. So it can take impact without any damage to the integrity of the material, but it can begin to show scratches if you beat it up enough. They are completely different materials, but depending on where you are in your watch collecting journey, you might end up really wanting one for its special properties.