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
Granted you do get a discount or better pricing when ordering as a pre-order. I forget how much it was, but it didn't peak my interest at that time. Fast forward whatever months and I found myself on the Aevig site. I kinda know Chip, the owner and kick arse designer from WUS and I have bought his quartz version of the Corvid about 3 years ago, so initially I don't really buy watches I already have or look familiar. BUT, I wanted a full lumed dial, and didn't want another diver, so I opted for this.
So am I giving up a discount? I guess that would be a yes compared to pre-order pricing. But even at retail, the watch punches way above it's weight, in style and quality.
And how do I source these pieces? Well some are pre-orders and some are direct purchases like this one. I mean the prices that you see for most of these micros are unbelievable for the movement they are now using. But that's just my opinion from a "not a movement" guy lol.