SIHH 2002 Report
Since 2001 Officine Panerai have obviously examined their product line closely, listened to feedback from customers and service centres, and put a little polish on some of the edges of their product line. A couple of new watches have been introduced, and some small but significant modifications have been made to others.
Bracelets
All bracelets now employ the push-button system on the clasp that was first introduced on the PAM 91, so the days of clasps popping open on 40mm automatics and chronographs are over.
Submersible Markers
I'm not sure whether this is a great selling point, but when I asked Angelo Bonati about the markers on submersible bezels that unscrew themselves and drop off, he indicated that the design has now been changed, and that the markers are now held fast into the bezel, with some kind of rivetting method. If a customer returns a submersible with a missing marker to the service centre, then the whole bezel will be replaced.
Deployant for 44mm
All 44mm watches in the contemorary line now come with a new deployant clasp instead of the old ardillon buckle. The clasp is much the same design as found on 40mm automatics, but of the two variants around it is the version that snaps open and closed, rather than having pushers at the edges.
44mm Automatic Line
The 44mm automatics gain one new watch, the PAM 104. This is in the spirit of the historical line, a polished steel, black dial version of the 44mm automatic. I guess the PAM 86 was perhaps a little too contemporary for some people with its anthracite dial and silvered hands.
| The new PAM 104 44mm automatic |
40mm Automatic Line
The PAM 69 and 70 (blue dialled 40mm automatics) have always been the odd men out of the 40mm automatic line. They are the only models from the range that have both case and bezel brushed. To bring them into line with the rest of their siblings, they have been replaced with the PAM 120 and 119 respectively which have a brushed case and polished bezel, like the rest of the 40mm automatics.
Radiomir Line
The Radiomir pieces finally get a steel cousin. I'm not yet sure of the reference number for this watch. I believe it is part of the regular yearly production, with 500 pieces being made in 2002.
The movement is an automatic Zenith Elite, with a gold rotor. The case is 42mm in diameter, 2mm larger than the WG and RG models, and the same size as the GMT / Alarm.
| The steel Radiomir automatic |
| The steel Radiomir automatic |
Luminor Marina Gold
Another addition to the contemporary line, the 44mm handwind Luminor Marina with a solid 18k yellow gold case and deployant clasp. The dial is carbon fibre. The watch on its own, without the clasp, weighs 120 grammes, although when I picked one up it didn't feel as heavy as I had expected. I gather that there has been considerable demand for a gold Luminor from both dealers and enthusiasts. 150 watches will be shipped this year, and it looks like the watch is part of the regular collection, not a special edition.
| The Luminor Marina gold |
| The Luminor Marina gold |
Luminor Chrono
To compliment the two black dialled models, the new PAM 121 (bracelet) and PAM 122 (strap) chronographs have been introduced. Both feature a very pleasant grey dial.
| Luminor Chrono with grey dial on a bracelet |
| Luminor Chrono with grey dial on a strap |