There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
I guess you want my take on it? Well it is one of my favorites to wear because it just looks cool! I initially didn't buy it because it doesn't have any lume at all. But I got over that after I got a watch with little lume, which wasn't bad, but I wasn't used to it, coming from the blazing Seiko Monsters I have in my collection.
How did I personally find it? I am on a watch forum that I mentioned previously, watchuseek.com I mainly lurk and post on the affordables section, but I have been venturing in the divers realm a bit more. Now how did I get to that forum? I blame an user named docvail. He is the owner of Lew and Huey, now known as Janis Trading Co. He had a kickstarter a few years back that launched the Acionna, which I posted here a few times. I backed it and got the #5 in production of the White Acionna.
He had a contest to see if a member there could assist in designing a watchpiece. Which lead to the design of the dual crowned Acionna. At the time, it looked like no other watch I have seen. Both retro and modern at the same time. And plus had the cool mascot, "sparky" as part of the funky logo. Well I got to talking with good ol docvail and ended up being a cool dude overall. And with other microbrand owners, he knows and recommends others like Melbourne Watch co and Aevig. Both are awesome microbrands as well btw.
I am no movement guru or into accuracy. If I want that, I'd wear my Casio lol. I like the different and well made/designed pieces that "speak" to me. Like this Melbourne. What do I know about the brand? I kind of know the owner of that company as well. He is responsive on the forums as well and recently opened up shop in a real life shop in Australia.
Well hope that sheds light on some of the questions you may have. Good luck in your decision!