Filling Out The Range
The majority of changes to the Panerai range in 2003 are logical extensions of existing concepts. Offering most pieces in a choice of 44mm and 40mm, on bracelets or straps, leads to most of the new additions.
The GMTs
If 2002 was the year of the power reserve, 2003 is the year of the GMT. The whole GMT range has undergone substantial fleshing out. A total of three new GMTs will now be available.
All new models have the same dial and hands, which differ from the current "first generation" GMTs considerably. On all models the dial has a thinned-out chapter ring, and the GMT hand now has a red arrow tip.
The first addition is the usual steel / titanium bracelet watch that backs up any 44mm steel watch, so the new PAM 161 is basically the bracelet version of the PAM 88, albeit with a different dial.
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There is also a new pair of 40mm GMTs. The PAM 159 is the strap model, and the PAM 160 has an all steel bracelet with alternating polished / brushed links. The 40mm diverge yet further from the original GMTs with "blob" indices on the dial, reminiscent of last year's highly successful Regatta GMT.
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The 44mm Chronograph
A "full sized" chronograph has been sorely lacking from the Panerai range for a long time, so my prediction for this year's quietly succesful model is the PAM 162 44mm Luminor Chronograph. This watch is exactly what its name would suggest, a 44mm chronograph, on a strap, with a deployant buckle. The base movement is a Valjoux 7753 (yes, you can feel the rotor the instant you pick the watch up), with the interesting combination of a date aperture at 4, and a recessed pusher for date quickset at 11.
The chrono case is all steel, with a brushed body, polished bezel and solid back. According to the catalogue the crystal is 2.5mm thick, instead of the more usual 3.5mm, at a guess this is to keep the depth of the watch under control while accomodating the deeper chronograph movement.
Now most watches with pusher quicksets come with a tool for doing the pushing. Many people end up resorting to biros or toothpicks to do the job. However the great touch with this watch is it comes with a specially made biro / pusher tool combo especially made for Panerai by Montegrappa, the Italian pen company. The pusher tool is retracted by turning the barrel. Each pen is individually numbered with the same number as the watch.
This is a great watch, and if my recollection of a price of around $4500 is correct, something of a bargain in my opinion.
Duh-arrrrgh!
As I was walking back to the airport in the evening it struck me that I had forgotten to photograph one of the more significant but easily missed elements of the 44mm chronograph. The pusher tool / pen combo obviously comes with a cap. At the end of the cap is engraved, perhaps to remind everybody that Panerai still own it, the old "pre-Vendome" OP logo. I don't think this is the last time we'll see the logo around.
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