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
Some observations: The SLA017 is just amazing when it's next to its little brother SBDC059. The edges are razor sharp and the polishing and brushing is just more refined. Both bezels are finished the same but I think the proportions are just right on the smaller watch. The polishing on the hands and indicies on the 017 is just a bit closer to Grand Seiko level (should be at the MSRP). Both watches have great dials with sunburst patterns. The depth of the texture are the same on both watches and neither one are anywhere near my GS's dial in that regard.
Enjoy the pictures.