Officine Panerai

An In-Depth Review of Panerai's PAM246

by Anthony Tsai

© April 2007

What is it with Panerai which makes me giddy every time SIHH draws near? Every time I buy a new PAM, I always keep telling myself that this IS the last one. But what do you know…the Panerai virus has hit me again! Apparently there seems to be absolutely no cure for the Panerai bug once affected, and many other watch freaks I know suffer from this same highly contagious disease.

My latest acquisition is the PAM246 which is called the "1/8th second," and this Panerai is a split-seconds chronograph foudroyante housed in the 45mm Radiomir steel case. Chad, the hospitable and gracious manager of the Panerai Beverly Hills Boutique, told me this one is the first piece in the US, and I'm thankful to him and Panerai for letting me get one of the first pieces produced.  I've been waiting for this watch since 2001 because Panerai initially debuted this model that year in what is known as the PAM79. I don't know the exact details of the story, but the PAM79 never came to fruition due to technical problems. Also at that time, the PAM79 was going to be housed in a smaller 42mm Radiomir case. Either way, I'm glad the PAM79 was never produced as I find the larger 45mm Radiomir case to be one of elegance, sport, and beauty. The 42mm Radiomir case is too small for my taste nowadays J

PAM246 1/8th Second

Not many brands today feature a foudroyante in their current collections as it is an uncommon complication which measures time at one eighth of a second; and so, the PAM246 features a subdial which is marked 0 through 8 as depicted by this picture on the right. The blue hand completes a sweep every second which is an elapsed time of 1/8th of a second for each number. For those wondering how fast this blue hand rotates each second, I've included a small 3MB video of this Jaquet movement based foudroyante in the link below:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

Now let's take a look at the watch itself! 

Crown

First off, the crown.  Below is the a picture of the crown, and let me say, this crown is amazing!  This is my first Panerai that I own where the crown has the etched-in Pre-V OP logo, and I wish my other Radiomir had this.  Crown is very easy to grip due to the coin edge indentations; however, when manually winding the watch, it feels as if I'm winding an old watch w/ a rusted movement because a lot of force is required to wind the crown.  If I wind the crown for a minute, my fingers are in pain!

crown w/ the Panerai OP logo

Chrono Pushers

The start and stop chrono pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock are the basic polished cylindrical pushers.  I would prefer if they were just a tad larger but if they were, I'm afraid they might not match well with the smooth, curvaceous Radiomir case.  When activating the chrono pushers, you hear a loud snap as it requires a lot of pressure to activate the pushers.  I haven't played around with other foudroyantes, so I don't know if the stiff pushers are a common trait among other foudroyantes. 

The split-secs pusher is integrated into the crown at 3 o'clock which is why the crown appears to protrude outwards more than an ordinary crown, and activating this pusher doesn't require as much pressure.

start and stop chrono pushers at 2 & 4 o'clock. split-sec pusher at 3 o'clock

Dial & Hands

The dial is very legible and well laid out in my opinion.  It is not cramped, and the location of the 2 recessed subdials at 3 and 9 o'clock is perfect and well-proportioned as well as not being situated too close to the center of the watch (a common problem these days with today's large sized chronograph watches).  The foudroyante subdial at 9 o'clock has a polished outer ring which is a nice discreet detail only seen at certain angles.

The 2 blue hands give a refreshing contrast to the black dial, the faint lime green colored superluminova, and the polished hands of the minutes, hour, chrono minutes, and split-secs hands.  

striking two blue hands of the PAM246

all 6 hands of the PAM246

Deployant Clasp

The polished deployant clasp that comes with this watch is Panerai's newly redesigned bi-fold deployant clasp w/ 2 release buttons on each side of the clasp.  It's a very secure clasp which looks both sporty and elegant, matching perfectly with the watch's overall feel.  I personally am not a fan of deployant clasps and actually dislike them a lot, but this redesigned clasp makes me want to put my Panerai Pre-V tang buckles away in my storage box!  That's how great this deployant looks, and it's extremely comfortable as well.

I used Panerai's 1st generation deployant clasp on my former PAM52, and the design of that clasp was horrible.  The clasp would automatically pop right open every time I bend back my wrist to the max.  There were no safety buttons and frankly, it was a highly unsecure deployant clasp and unsafe to wear while diving or doing any recreational activity.  Total opposite of this new clasp!  I wish I can use this clasp on all my other Panerai straps but I can't as my other straps are too thick for the deployant.  Oh well…guess I'll have to stick with croc straps for the time being.

side view of deployant clasp

It seems as if the Panerai design department thought of everything in regards to design of this new deployant clasp.  Even the section which has the Panerai etched detail is recessed so this section doesn't get scratched.  I give huge kudos to whoever thought of this!

2 safety buttons on each side & Panerai detail

Movement

I'm not much of a technical movement guru so sorry if I can't tell you much about the movement.  What I do know is this Panerai's OP XXI calibre is a Jaquet based foudroyante movement with a 42 hour power reserve.

Finishing on this watch is average and nothing special, just the run of the mill finishing for Panerai watches.  You can see perlage and côtes de genève finishing on the bridges but the quality of the finishing is no where in the same league as a Patek, Lange, or AP.  I don't see any anglage at all, and some parts have been coated with a blue finish matching that of the blued screws.  I always considered finishing as Panerai's weakest point, and I really hope they bump it up a notch considering the sky-rocketing prices and price increase after price increase.

The rotor on the movement works very efficiently.  Any slight shake of the watch causes the anchor-like-shaped rotor to spin like a tornado.  Some of my other automatic watches have very inefficient rotors, and I'm glad to see this watch is not like that. 

blue screws everywhere

Strap

What kind of Panerai review is this if I don't mention anything about the strap? J   Paneristi's are strap freaks, so this section is for us.  Panerai picked a great choice for the OEM strap.  The dark brown crocodile strap w/ white stitching matches very well with the watch, and the color should darken with age.  Chad compared the strap with the light brown OEM croc, and the light brown didn't match as well.

I haven't performed a strap change yet so I'm wondering how this would look with an aftermarket vintage calf strap w/ extra long tail.  Just not yet cause I'm loving the deployant clasp still!  Sorry Paneristi's for not having any aftermarket strap pics, even though I've purchased a couple straps well in advance just for this watch, and they're sitting right in front of me as I type.

Final Words

I first saw this watch in pictures in 2001, and then finally saw one in the flesh a year ago at the BH Panerai Boutique trunk show.  I drooled every day for a month, maybe even 2 months, thinking about the PAM246 and the swirling little blue hand.   I even consider this watch my favorite in all of Panerai's 2006 line, even more so than the mighty PAM203 w/ restored vintage 8-day Angelus movement! 

This watch is a perfect choice for any Panerai collector looking to purchase a Radiomir w/ a unique complication.  The new redesigned deployant clasp is fantastic, and the layout of the dial is clean and well-portioned.  The view through the sapphire back is not too shabby, but I wish the finishing was better.  Panerai, if you're reading this, please improve your finishing as I consider it your weakest trait.  The blue hands are to die for, and this watch, as with any other Panerai, glows like a flashlight at night. 

I hope everyone who is on the list to get a PAM246 is able to get his shortly as the wait has been arduous, and I'm elated it's finally over for me.  Thank you for reading my review, and please be easy on me as this is my first official "review" I've ever written J

Anthony Tsai

Tech specs (from Panerai's website)

Unique edition of 300 pieces

Movement: automatic mechanical, exclusive Panerai OP XXI calibre, 13¼ lignes, 40 jewels, Glucydur balance, 28,800 alternations/hour. Incabloc anti-shock device. Power reserve 42 hours. Circular graining and Côtes de Genève decorations on the bridges. Chronometer Certificate (C.O.S.C.).

Functions: hours, minutes, split-seconds chronograph with two counters, one with hand rotating once per second in 1/8 - second increments, tachymeter scale.

Case: diameter 45 mm, polished steel with removable wire loop strap attachments (patented). Winding crown personalised Panerai.

Bezel: polished steel.

Back: see-through sapphire crystal.

Dial: black with luminous hour markers and Arabic numerals, minutes counter at 3 o'clock, 1/8th second dial at 9 o'clock, chronograph split-seconds at the centre. Chronograph seconds scale on the outer edge, tachymeter scale on the flange.

Crystal : sapphire, made from corundum, 1.9 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.

Water resistance: 100 metres.

Strap: alligator with Panerai personalised steel adjustable buckle.

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© April 2007 – Anthony Tsai and PuristSPro.com – all rights reserved