Officine Panerai

I'm contemplating acquisition of a Panerai and would like any recommendations on the pro/con of either the PAM 005 or 111 as a first purchase.  I've seen several out there for sale from other collectors, but do not know enough about the different variations of these basic models.  Does the series of either model make much of a difference for the post-Vendome models from a collectability perspective?  Any thoughts or advice are appreciated.  Thanks.

 

Paul

 

Dial: 005 owns a painted dial which means the numbers are painted onto it. 111's is a sandwich one.

Logo: 005 has the famous logo panerai designed for civil market which is rare and hard to find in Richement's all production series. 111 has no logo at all.

Caseback: 005 has an original taste namely a solid caseback which is historically correct. 111's caseback is a saphire which can allow you see through it and observe how the movement works.

Caliber: 111 has its ETA 6497 reformed to get the similar shape looks a bit like the Rolex Cortebert.

That is all what occured to me. Hope can help you a bit.

thks

sean

I seem drawn to the sandwich dial and the exhibition back is a nice bonus, however the finishing is not to as high of a standard as others in my collection - so am not sure if this is as big of a focus for me for this brand.  I also appreciate authenticity on a reproduction model, so the points you mention for the 005 are also of interest.  I'm trying to educate myself with a lot of information out there on this brand before I make a decision.  Between the two, what do most Panerai collectors prefer for a basic Historic model?  Thanks.

Paul

    Personally speaking, I think you are now in the right way to own your first pam coz one of the most important elements of pam is simplicity referring to the vintage models. This is what we could not find in other brands though many pams now have busy dial with different functions, I myself still stick to the basic

    All pams made by Richement could obviously tell you they succeed the heritage and history of this famous brand, however, succession doesn't mean no changes. Dated back to the very first models Richement made such as A series 001, 002, 004, 009 ... they all have painted dial but using Tritium instead of Luminova. If you observe the dial you could find the clue beneath the number 6 like this: L swiss made L instead of T-swiss-T. If you decide to collect pam as a long term fun game, you could think about this later.

   As a daily beater for a start, yes, 005, 111 or 112 , 219 maybe a good choice. 005, 111 has small second hand while 112 and 219 doesn't. Therefore, 112 and 219 called luminor base and 005 and 111 called luminor marina. Small second hand is also a very important sign of pam and if you care about C.O.S.C certificate, then you gotta go with 005 or 111. 

  cheers

  sean