Officine Panerai

AnthonyTsai
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SIHH 2010: Panerai novelties - video & photo report !!

Panerai had a press preview of the SIHH 2010 novelties at the Beverly Hills Boutique on Wed & Thu March 24th & 25th, so some of the PPro mod team made our way down there to check out the new watches.  I wanted to do something different for this Panerai SIHH 2010 report because we've already had many great reports from Jonathan Zhang, pifpaf, Nad, Martin, and TonyP with tons of fabulous pictures, so how can I add to these reports without being redundant?  Answer:  wristshots and videos!

And so, the format of this report will primarily be video and wrist shots of the new 2010 watches.  I've never done a video report, so if you don't like the videos and music background, please bear with me   These videos will help you get a better idea of perspective and how they will actually look in "real-life" since all the angles are captured in the video.

Unfortunately, not all the SIHH 2010 watches were there which I was dying to see in person such as the PAM339 47mm Radiomir brown composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni, the PAM348 48mm Radiomir Tourbillon GMT Ceramica Lo Scienziato, and the re-edition PAM29 GMT.

If you forgot how all these watches look like, here's Kong's Panerai 2010 novelties press release post:  CLICK HERE  : to refresh your memory.

The vast majority of pictures are from Dr. Ming Woo with a couple from me.  And all videos were taken by me.

**WARNING** : Videos below will have background music, so if you are at work viewing this report, you may want to turn down or mute your computer speakers!!

Now let's get started. 

PAM359
First off is the Panerai PAM359 44mm Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic from the Contemporary Collection. 

It seems as if this PAM359 is getting a lot of positive remarks from the non die-hard Panerai fans.  It has the traditional look of all arabic numerals (which are cutout from the dial), and the usual Panerai baton hour markers are missing.  When I first saw pictures of this watch, I was like huh?  What was Panerai thinking?  But the more you look at this watch, the more you get used to it.  However, as a long time Panerai fan, I still haven't warmed up to the PAM359.

To give you a color reference. the vintage looking luminova appears to be the same color as that found on the PAM249.  Bill was wearing his PAM249 that day, and we compared the PAM249 and PAM359 luminova in the light and they appeared to be the same color. 

Another great feature of the PAM359 is the matching strap stitching.  Everything on this watch matches perfectly - luminova on hands and dial & date disc & strap stitching.

Below is a video of the PAM359 to give you a better idea of how it looks like.

PAM355
Next is the Panerai PAM355 42mm Radiomir GMT Alarm in stainless steel from the Contemporary Collection.

The PAM355 is essentially the same watch as the discontinued PAM98 Radiomir GMT Alarm.  The primary difference between the PAM355 and PAM98 is the dial - the perimeter railroad track is missing.  So Panerai cleaned up PAM98 dial by removing these railroad tracks and made the PAM355 dial cleaner IMO.

Movement is the same, and below is a video of the Alarm in action which isn't a loud buzz but should wake up any light sleeper.  I wouldn't expect this watch to wake me up if I were a heavy, deep sleeper.  Nevertheless, the buzzing of the PAM355 isn't annoying like that on the Vulcain alarm watches.

PAM343
Next is the Panerai PAM343 Radiomir Regatta 1/8th Second in a 47mm brushed titanium case. 

Every year Panerai releases a Regatta watch, and this year it's the PAM343 foudroyante rattrapante.  This is essentially the same watch as the 2006 limited edition 45mm PAM246 1/8th Second of 300 pieces but released in a larger 47mm case and in titanium instead of steel.

Below is a video so you can see the foudroyante hand at 9 o'clock in action.  It makes 1 full revolution in 1 secs, so you have the ability to measure elapsed time in 1/8ths of a second.

If you want a better HD video of the foudroyante in action, here's a PAM246 video I posted here in the past:

PAM338 (titanium) & PAM337 (stainless steel)
The Panerai PAM337 and PAM338 are Panerai's new 42mm Radiomirs from the Historic Collection and house the new P.999 in-house movement.  The rose gold variant PAM336 wasn't here at the press preview.

Below is a picture of the PAM337 stainless steel.

Below is a picture of the new in-house P.999 calibre.  A very beautiful looking simple movement and much easier on the eyes than the P.200x movement IMO.

And below is a video of the PAM338 titanium w/ gold hands on Ping's tiny wrist.  This PAM338 should be a hot piece for those with small wrists and looking to add a Radiomir to their collections.  It's a perfect watch for your special lady if you want to share your Panerai passion with her.

PAM335
Next is the Panerai PAM335 44mm Luminor 1950 10 Days GMT Ceramic from the Contemporary Collection.  Please note this is a regular edition piece, not a limited edition piece.

The PAM335 is a toned down version of PAM317 Ceramic Monopusher which made its debut at SIHH 2008.  The PAM335 lacks the chronograph function found in the PAM317 and the black PVD coating on the movement.  The PVD coating on the movement seems to be giving Panerai some difficulty getting PAM317's produced today.  So with this PAM335, instead of PVD'ing the movement, Panerai simply just black tinted the display sapphire back.  I guess you can call it a cost effective short cut   However, the effect is not nearly the same IMO.

In the below video, you will see the slightly tinted black display back but at many angles, the black tint disappears so you hardly see any darkening effect. 

PAM323
The Panerai PAM323 47mm stainless steel Radiomir 10 Days GMT is Panerai's 1st watch with the circular power reserve display.

The PAM323 houses the in-house P.2003/5 movement.  Normally with the P.200x watches, the power reserve indicator will be the infamous "fang" linear power reserver display.  I don't know why Panerai decided to use a circular power reserve display, but my guess is because there are some critics of the "fang".  So why not make a circular power reserve display for these naysayers?

Below are videos of the PAM323.

It'll take me some time to get used to this circular power reserve display since I've grown accustomed to the "fang".  It's difficult to change a bad habit right?

Now the question remains, will we see this new circular power reserve displays creep into a Luminor model?  I say there's a high probability and maybe we'll see one at SIHH 2011.

PAM300
Next is the watch many people have asked Panerai to make - the Mare Nostrum.  The Panerai PAM300 Mare Nostrum is a monster at 52mm in stainless steel!

In the pictures, the PAM300 looks like a regular sized Panerai.  However, once you try it on your wrist, you will see how massive this watch is.  The lugs easily extend over my wrist and probably will for even Sylvester Stallone's wrist. 

Panerai did a great job with the Mare Nostrum because it looks almost exactly like the original w/ the 2-step dial.  The PAM300 at this preview was a dummy, so I couldn't play around with the chronograph pushers to "feel" how tactile the pushers are.  However, it was fitted with a highly finished Minerva movement which many will drool over.  I'm not sure which exact Minerva movement this is, so hopefully one of our Minerva experts can chime in with the exact calibre no.

Below is a video of this magnificent beast:

 

PAM365
And lastly, here is the Panerai PAM365 Luminor 1950 Equation of Time Tourbillon - 50mm titanium case.

This is Panerai's big watch into the world of high horology.  With a combination of tourbillon, equation of time, and star chart on the back, this is a sign to me that Panerai will be a serious contender for the $100k+ segment in the future.

The equation of time complication is located on the linear scale at 6 o'clock where you would normally see the "fang" power reserve on a P.200x watch.  Time of Sunset and Sunrise is at 4 and 8 o'clock respectively.  And the rear of the watch displays the star chart.  Panerai calibrates the PAM365 to the fortunate owner's location, so at any night you can look at the star chart displayed and it'll match with what you see in the above sky.

What's surprising is even though this PAM365 is a 50mm 1950 case, it wasn't that overbearing on my wrist.  I'm used to wearing 47mm 1950's, and this extra 3mm didn't make that much of a difference with wearability and comfort.  In fact, this PAM365 felt absolutely great on my wrist!

(pic by SJX)

I'm sorry I don't have a video of the PAM365.  I thought I took one but guess I forgot  

Press release for the PAM365 that Kong posted earlier:  basel.watchprosite.com

Thanks once again to the great Panerai staff for their hospitality, and hope you enjoyed my report!

Cheers,
Anthony

PS.  Hope you don't mind the music in the videos.  I had to do an audio swap since there were private conversations in the background.

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