As we wait for the PuristSPro SIHH 2015 team to post their live Panerai pictures here, I'll share my initial thoughts on this year's Panerai collection.
I want to see how the PAM616 Carbotech material hands up to wear and tear such as dings and scratches. I think this watch would look awesome on a military green canvas strap. Also, I normally don't like talking about retail prices but people, please do not overpay for this Carbotech in the secondary markets when it comes out. You can be assured that this most likely will not be the only Carbotech Panerai. There should be many more other models in the future IMO, so keep your thinking caps on and be smart with your money! It's just like brown and black ceramic models as well as the Bronzo's. There will be more.
Regarding the PAM604 Radiomir Firenze, I'm assuming the engraving work was done by Purdy which made all the Luminor Hunter case models w/ engravings. Richemont owns Purdy so guess it's trying to maximize Purdy's know how into other product offerings. Maybe this is the start of more engraved Radiomirs in the future?
What you guys think of this PAM604? It makes the Radiomir look "antique-ish" and I'm not sure if it's fitting with the Panerai image. I'm not sure if I want to see more of these but to each his own I guess.
I'm not surprised Panerai made another Mare Nostrum with the PAM603 - the original model was the PAM300 - but this time the color scheme is brown. It's 52mm again so doubt it will be a popular model to be worn on the wrist. Most of these will probably be safe queens IMO.
The PAM614 & PAM615 are new models in the Submersible line. Of these 2, I definitely like the PAM615 w/ black ceramic bezel much better.
This PAM615 really works for me and is aesthetically balanced and pleasing to my eye. The black ceramic bezel and the blue hands provide a nice visual design to this diving watch. Perhaps this PAM615 will be one of the more popular Submersibles in comparison to other regular production Submersibles?
Now let's go to the 2 new Panerai Equation of Time watches - the PAM601 Luminor 47mm and PAM516 Radiomir 1940 48mm. Panerai released its first Equation of Time watch at SIHH 2010 with the PAM365. What makes these 2 new watches different is the PAM365 was a monster 50mm Luminor. These 2 new versions are smaller at 47mm and 48mm.
Another difference is the PAM365 had a star chart on the rear of the watch which probably accounted for the larger sized case to house the extra complication.
The equation of time complication isn't that useful for most people, so I don't think the PAM601 and PAM516 will be "hot" watches. They'll be more targeted for the watch collector who likes various complications.
All in all, an average year for Panerai from what I've seen from the press releases. Usually Panerai has 1 or 2 more watches that aren't in the press releases, so we'll have to wait for our SIHH team to share those watches, that's if there are any this year. In any case, I'm glad they didn't release as many models as they used to in the prior years, so it's good to see Panerai consolidating its new offerings. The Carbotech will be a material to keep an eye out, especially for watch collectors who like Audemars Piguet's forged carbon watches. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on the PAM616.
How do you guys feels of this year's Panerai collection? Please share your thoughts with us!
Cheers,
Anthony