SIHH 2007 - Panerai Write-up

Apr 30, 2007,18:13 PM
 

 

SIHH 2007 - Panerai

by Anthony Tsai

© April 2007



Panerai has some interesting pieces this year as well as a couple new in-house movements, so let's get started right away.


New Features and Anti-Counterfeit Measures

- Panerai metal bracelets will no longer have screws on each link.

- All 44mm Luminors are going to have the new push-pin strap change system.

- All Luminor cases are now more shock resistant. There are no screws that attach the movement to the case anymore, and these screws are now replaced with rings and gaskets.

- "Runner" on crown lever now. This "runner" is a ball at the base of the lever which rolls back and forth on the crown. This allows for easier closing and opening of the lever.

- On the inside of all Panerai deployant buckles, there will be "Panerai" raised lettering, and below is an example of this new anti-counterfeit measure.



- There will now be the Pre-V OP Logo on all casebacks now. Panerai refers to this as the "MOSCA" master stamp.




Summary of Panerai's 4 In-House Movements

P.2002 - 8 Days GMT; manual winding
P.2003 - 10 Days GMT; automatic winding
P.2004 - 8 Days GMT Chrono Monopulsante; manual winding
P.2005 - 6 Days GMT Tourbillon; manual winding


New Models


PAM240 & PAM279
The PAM240 (1000 pieces, $5400) is the leather strap version, and the PAM279 (500 pieces, $7700) is the titanium all-brushed bracelet version. The PAM279 will be replacing the PAM221, and both 240 and 279 are automatics housed in the 44mm Luminor Ti brushed case with a slate dial.




PAM292
The PAM292 (1000 pieces, $6200) is the highly anticipated 45mm Radiomir Black Seal Ceramic. It has the usual removable wire loop strap attachments in steel w/ PVD coating, and the crown is, I believe, PVD'ed steel (even though the Press Release says it's ceramic). Crown is personalized with the OP logo, and the dial is a black sandwich dial w/ a torpedo (referred to as a "Pig") at 6 o'clock.



The ceramic used is Zirconium Oxide and is molded from powder using a process of isostatic pressure, giving it the characteristic of extreme durability of up to 5x more than 316L steel as well as corrosion resistance.

Movement is the usual hand-wound Panerai OPXI movement w/ 56 hour power-reserve, and the caseback is PVD'ed steel as well as the Pre-V buckle.





PAM193
The PAM193 (600 pieces, $13,800) - the Luminor 1950 Submersible Depth Gauge - is going to be another "hot" model. The PAM193 isn't classified as a "watch" but will be classified as an "Instrument."

The 193 will be housed in the 47mm 1950 case and will have a tritium dial which is standard for Panerai's diving watches. It's an automatic but the depth gauge meter runs on a lithium battery which is expected to last 500 hours.







The button w/ personalized OP logo at 10 o'clock (shown below) is the depth gauge button. When you 1st push the button, the max depth of your previous dive shows up, then the depth gauge hand goes back to OFF. Then when you begin your dive, it'll start recording your depth.




Watch is EXTREMELY thick, so if you already have placed your order for this watch, expect the PAM193 to be around 1.5x thick (including the bezel) as a standard 44mm Luminor, and as the saying goes for Paneristi's, it really is a tuna can on a wrist!


PAM282 & PAM283
The PAM282 (500 pieces, $5300) and PAM283 (500 pieces, $7350) are the 2 new 40mm blue dialed Luminors. Strap version is the 282 and bracelet model is the 283. As a reference point for those wondering what blue color these 2 dials are, the blue dials are very similar looking (if not the same) to that of the blue dials found in the Firenze special edition pieces.




Btw, all 40mm Luminor second subdials will now be smaller. There will now be a small hash mark to the left of the secs subdial at 9 o'clock, and Panerai has made this change to make the 40mm dials look more proportional. If you look at the old 40mm Luminors, you won't see this new hash mark. And btw, 44mm Luminor's already have this hash mark if you're wondering.


PAM268
The PAM268 (400 pieces, $10,800) is the Radiomir 8 days. The base movement used is last year's new in-house P.2002 movement, and the exact movement for this radiomir is the P.2002/3 movement. What's different about this piece as compared to the PAM233 is that there is no GMT function.




Usually all Panerai's with a date window signifies the watch is an automatic, but the PAM268 is a manual wind, so now this generalization goes out the door It is increasingly difficult to keep track of Panerai model #'s; and now, the magnifying glass date window distinction between automatic and manual winds is no longer valid.

Specs of the watch are: 8-day power reserve, polished steel 316L case, screw-down crown personalized OP, sapphire back, and water resistant to 100 meters.





PAM270
The PAM270 (regular production, $13,700) is the Luminor 1950 10 Days GMT in stainless steel. The 44mm 1950 case will house the new in-house P.2003 movement which features an automatic movement with GMT and 10-day power reserve.




Sapphire back of course and the beautiful rotor will be personalized w/ the OP logo and brand name in blue.





PAM235 & PAM273 & PAM270
The PAM235 (White Gold, 250 piece, $28,900), PAM273 (Pink Gold, 250 pieces, $27,700), and PAM274 (Platinum, 50 pieces) are the 45mm Radiomir versions of the above PAM270.





PAM288 & PAM287
The PAM288 (regular production piece of 700 pieces for 2007, $6700) is the 45mm Radiomir Chronograph which houses the Panerai calibre OP XII movement. Case is stainless steel w/ a solid steel screw-in caseback.




The PAM287 (regular production piece, $5150) is the new automatic 45mm Radiomir Blackseal w/ date at 3 o'clock. The 287 has a solid screw-in caseback just like the above 288.





PAM289
The PAM289 (regular production, $24,900) is the pink gold 8 Day GMT. The P.2002/1 movement is housed in a 44mm 1950 case, and the dial is a chocolate brown slate color. This is the same watch as the steel PAM233 but in pink gold.




I tried to capture the beauty of the dial and PG case in the above picture as it is a very beautiful and striking combination IMO. Below is the caseback picture, and well done Panerai!





PAM275 & PAM277
The PAM275 (regular production, $16,300) is the Luminor 1950 8 Days Chrono Monopulsante GMT. Uses the handwound P.2004/1 movement and is housed a 44mm 1950 steel case. Hands are black w/ a polished steel central chrono secs hand.




Sapphire back w/ monopusher chrono button at 8 o'clock.




I forgot to take a picture of the back which is the P.2004 movement, but here's a picture of it from Panerai's website



The PAM277 ($29,300) is the Pink Gold version w/ blue dial version of the above PAM275. Sorry don't have a picture of it as it was unavailable during my brief 45-minute appointment on my last day at SIHH.


PAM286
The PAM286 (500 pieces, $12,200) is the new special edition Luminor 1950 Regatta Rattrapante. The watch essentially looks exactly the same as last year's Regatta piece but this time it's a split-seconds chrono instead of a regular chrono.

The chronograph central secs hand is the same vivid aqua blue color (Panerai refers to this blue as "azure," and the dial is a black waffle hobnail type dial. Since the first 5 minutes are the most important in a yacht race, the 1st 5-minutes of the chrono subdial at 3 o'clock also has the azure blue highlighting.




Movement is the Panerai calibre OP XVIII and housed a the 44mm steel 1950 case. Engraved on the back is the inscription "Classic Yachts Challenge 2007," and the PAM286 comes on a rubber strap w/ adjustable buckle as well as a screwdriver and second strap.


PAM 276
The PAM276 (~100 pieces/yr, $98,000) is Panerai's Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT 47mm. Movement is the manual wound P.2005 6 Days GMT tourbillon. The tourbillon rotates every 30 secs which is indicated by the azure blue dot inside the secs subdial at 9 o'clock.




The 6-day power reserve indicator has been moved to the back and shown in the picture below.




Below are some more pictures of the tourbillon in action. I forgot to bring my point and shoot camera which I left in my hotel room to make a video of the tourbillon in action. Oh well. Either way, here are some pictures below so you can see the sequence of the rotating tourbillon.














Panerai Ferrari Watches

FER13
The FER13 (stainless steel) is Panerai's new red dial automatic Granturismo Chronograph. It is similar to the previous year's yellow dialed FER11 model but this time the chronograph has 3 counters instead of 2. Chrono buttons are the same screw-down push-pieces, and the caseback is solid steel screw-in.




FER15 & FER16
The FER15 (stainless steel) and FER16 (pink gold) are Panerai's 2 Ferrari Perpetual Calendar watches. These 2 are special edition pieces housed in the 45mm Ferrari case w/ the Panerai OP XXII calibre.








Personal Thoughts

Panerai has a lot going for it right now. Not only has it silenced all the critics of the so-called "big watch fad," but it has also begun climbing up the horological ladder w/ the introduction of its new in-house movements and tourbillon. 5 years ago, who would have thought Panerai would be making a tourbillon? I sure didn't!

CEO Angelo Bonati is an astute leader and is executing extremely well IMO, and I can't wait to see whatever surprises he and Panerai have in store for us 5 years from now. Maybe possibly another new case shape to add to the Luminor, Radiomir, and 1950 lines? Or maybe even a minute repeater? Only time will tell, and I'm sure we'll all be thinking, "Why didn't I think of that!"

Cheers,
Anthony

PuristSPro Homepage | ThePuristS Homepage

Comments, suggestions, and corrections to this write-up are welcome.

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

This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2007-05-05 21:45:22


More posts: 8 Days GMTBlack SealCalibresChronographGranturismoLuminorLuminor 1950Luminor BaseLuminor ChronoLuminor MarinaMare NostrumMonopusher ChronographPAM000PAM100PAM193PAM200PAM221PAM233PAM235PAM240PAM250PAM268PAM270PAM273PAM274PAM275PAM276PAM277PAM279PAM282PAM283PAM286PAM287PAM288PAM289PAM292PAM300PAM316PAM500Pendulum ClockPerpetual CalendarRadiomirRadiomir ChronographRadiomir Black SealRadiomir ChronographRadiomir GMTRadiomir p2003Radiomir p2003 platinumRadiomir Platinum Tourbillon GMTRadomirSubmersible depth guage Luminor 1950

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SIHH 2007 - Panerai Write-up

 
 By: AnthonyTsai : April 30th, 2007-18:13
SIHH 2007 - Panerai by Anthony Tsai © April 2007 Panerai has some interesting pieces this year as well as a couple new in-house movements, so let's get started right away. New Features and Anti-Counterfeit Measures - Panerai metal bracelets will no longer...

Great report thx

 
 By: Bill : April 30th, 2007-21:56

Full Coverage and Full Blast.

 
 By: BHK9 : April 30th, 2007-23:03

Great review Anthony - thanks !! (nt)

 
 By: Contender : May 1st, 2007-05:56

Thanks Anthony.

 
 By: SJX : May 1st, 2007-20:42

Thanks for the report.

 
 By: Jacky : May 4th, 2007-09:13
Its interesting to know the new directions this brand is taking....new own movement and tourby and etc....great job. Regards

Great Report!! (NT)

 
 By: stevetse : May 4th, 2007-09:35

great write up, the Panerai tourbillon is very interesting

 
 By: ei8htohms : May 5th, 2007-06:27
Hello Anthony, I'm quite fascinated by the new Panerai tourbillon (BTW, it is a single axis tourbillon, the axis is simply in a different plane than conventional tourbillons). I rather wish they would've optimized the cage even further for reduced inertia...

Thanks for the correction John! [nt]

 
 By: AnthonyTsai : May 5th, 2007-21:46