Fresh from the
Showcase here at SwissWatchExpo.
We're going to talk about Panerais today.
We have a lot of really great Panerais here
at SwissWatchExpo.
We've got many different versions of the Panerai,
and we're using this today, these are my favorite
pieces.
These are three of my most favorite featured
watches within the Panerai lineup.
These are all GMT watches and each one of
them has a little bit stylistic difference
than the other.
One of the things that I want to talk about
is that the Rolex watch in the industry has
really gotten overly popular and overheated.
You can't find them in the marketplace very
easily.
A lot of people find that Rolex sports watches
are just a little too small.
They want something a little bit larger, that
has a little bit more presence on their wrist.
For folks like me that have a larger wrist,
these watches work really well.
They're very well balanced on the wrist, even
though they're larger.
Now, one of the things about Panerai is, it
has a very long, long history.
In the beginning, this was a military only
watch, and it was not available to civilians.
It started out as a tool watch.
It was something that was designed specifically
for a purpose.
It has some really unique background history.
It also has the functionality.
You can change out the straps on each one
of the watches to customize them to their
individual taste.
Each one of these has a distinct personality,
including the different functionalities of
the watch itself.
In other words, these have GMT functions.
They also have date functions.
The way that the date functions are individual,
they have different internal movements in
each one of those or function differently.
We'll talk about that a little bit today.
Now, one of the things that I want to talk
about at the beginning is the number series
and how you identify a Panerai.
It can be very, very confusing.
Personally, I don't try to remember each one
of the numbers because it's not linear.
They don't go in a sequential line.
If you want to talk about features, for example,
on this watch, this is the PAM 00535.
This watch, if you add a feature or a subtract
a feature, for example, if you add the GMT
function, or if you take away the GMT function.
You do not go from 535 to 536 or 5353 and
if you remove something to 534.
Let's start out with the one here on my left.
This is the PAM 00270.
Now this is a Luminor, and then you start
down the line and you go to the PAM 00628.
This is the Radiomir, and this is also a Luminor
the PAM 00535, which is the one I spoke about
a second ago.
Each one of these has a little bit different
function, but they're all GMT functions.
Now, the reason that I chose these is because
they have some very distinctive differences.
I'm going to start with the one here on my
left, which is the 270.
Now the great thing about the 270, this is
an automatic, this is a Luminor 1950.
This has the patented crown clasp here, and
it actually has the patented number stamped
into the crown clasp on the side.
They designed this crown clasp so that it
was easy to notice whether or not that crown
was closed.
Because if you're diving, you want to make
sure that when you get in the water, that
crown is closed so that you don't flood your
watch and ruin it.
Now, because it's a tool watch,
they were specifically designed that way to
be used appropriately.
For the military, they inherit flaws over
the years, they started discovering that certain
things were happening over and over and over
again.
One of the things being, that the crown would
break off the water would get in through the
crown.
They wouldn't screw the crown down fully,
dirt and things like that would get into the
crown screws in the threads.
It wouldn't close properly.
They would also have issues with the gaskets
and things like that.
Now that's not something that you normally
have in civilian life, because you're not
beating the watch to death every time you
get in the water.
It's very succinct, different thing that's
going on when you use some for the military
versus civilian life.
Which is why military equipment is always
so durable and so overly engineered.
Now, with this particular piece, it's really
great because you can tell if the crown is
open, it's very obvious that it's open because
you have the cantilever here.
Now, what this does is this puts actual pressure
on the crown so that when you push it in,
it actually pushes the crown back into the
body of the watch and keeps it sealed down.
It's a very positive seal.
One of the things that this watch also has
is a deployment clasp.
Now, this is very unique to the way that Panerai
works.
You can actually buy the different straps,
and they're very easy to change out because,
as you can see here, this particular watch
comes with all the tools necessary to be able
to change out that particular strap.
You get the screwdriver for it, and you also
get the pusher tool for it.
That's because of the way that these particular
items come out.
Now, this particular watch on the, on each
one of the lugs, when you look underneath
it, there's a little pusher and once you push
the pin in, you can slide the strap pin out.
Then, the next thing, you have to take the
little screws out from the side of the foldable
clasp as well.
That's what the screwdriver is for.
Not all Panerais have those tools that come
with them.
I do want to make clear on that because a
lot that's a very confusing thing.
Some have them, some don't.
Throughout the history of Panerai, there are
certain reasons why they have them, certain
reasons they don't.
Then again, Panerai doesn't really make sense
of that.
Why some have them and some don't, you would
think it would be more universal.
Now, I particularly like this watch because
when you put it on your wrist, this is actually
an aftermarket strap, but this watch comes
with all of the materials here, which is very
important because folks that are into Panerai,
want the booklets, they want the screwdrivers,
they want the tools, they want the original
wood box, and they even want the original
cardboard box that goes with it.
We try to get that every single time we can.
It's not always possible.
When you're looking at this watch, one of
the things that you'll notice about this particular
piece is that it has a domed crystal.
That's unlike this model, which does not have
a domed crystal, it's very flat.
It's got a small raise dome, but this is very
specific because it rises far above the actual
bezel on the watch.
I like this because it looks more like a bubble
type crystal, and with a Sapphire crystal
that's very, very hard to do and it's very
expensive, by the way.
These do have anti-reflective coatings so
you don't get that glare.
that strange glare that happens when you have
a dome type crystal.
This watch is also very important because
it's an automatic.
It also has a 10 day power supply.
Now, what makes that interesting is Panerai
is the only company in the world that does
a 10 day power supply, that has three barrels.
They have three different barrels that work
in sequence to make sure that it keeps the
times specifically regulated.
It's a very complicated feature, and it's
something very specific to the watch that
I have in my hand here.
This one also has the GMT function, and it
also has the power supply bar that runs linear
across the dial, so from side to side.
As opposed to some of them which have a circular
style indicator or something that has a sort
of a half moon shape that looks like almost
like a speedometer on your car.
This one is very, very stable, keeps amazing
time.
Of course, all of our watches here at SwissWatchExpo
are going through to make sure that they're
serviced properly and that they keep time
properly.
You can always imagine that these are going
to be your best friend for a long time to
come.
Now let's talk about the Radiomir for a second
because this has also got something unique
in its feature set.
I want to display this, because this is the
micro-rotor, this is something that was unique
to Panerai.
Now Patek Philippe originally debut the micro-rotor
- it's very, very small.
As opposed to the watch that I have on my
wrist, this has a large rotor that fills the
entire case back.
You can see that, because this one has the
Sapphire case back, you can see the movement.
But this one it's very, very small and it's
just down here in the corner.
It doesn't fill up the entire case back.
It's something that's very unique because
it makes the movement also a lot thinner and
a lot more compact.
It's a lot cleaner style.
It's just high technology and mechanical engineering.
This one also has one of my favorite dials
of Panerai, it's called the Parisian Hobnail.
What it looks like is sort of a greenish gray,
but it also can look extremely dark black,
depending on the light that you're in.
It has a lot of personality.
Now, this one also has a 72 hour power supply
along with that small micro-rotor.
It comes with the date function.
This is also a GMT, but one of the unique
things is the sub-dial not only gives you
the seconds, but it also gives you the 24
hour dial.
You have several different things going on
here.
A lot of different features and functions
about this watch, which makes it a lot more
expensive new, but the great thing is you
get, I mean, this watch was a little over
$12,000 new, and it looks like we've got it
for $9,490, which is a very severe discount,
but the watch feels pristine.
It feels unworn.
If you're looking for a watch like this at
a great discount, this is an absolutely phenomenal
piece to have.
Radiomir happens to be my favorite line of
the Panerai simply because of the thinness
of it and easy to wear, even though it's a
larger piece, it also has that really cool
cushion shape of the watch.
I'm going to move on to this particular piece
here.
As soon as I can get this, it's a little bit
difficult working with it when it's not on
your wrist, apparently.
One thing I want to mention about the Radiomir.
This is a 45-millimeter case.
This is going to be a 42-millimeter case.
Panerai does make watches that go from a reasonable
size.
They go from a 40-millimeter to a 42-millimeter
to a 44, which is what I'm wearing on my wrist,
to the 45 and then they jump to a 47-millimeter.
They can get very, very large.
But generally speaking, those are for people
who really understand that they want a very
large watch for this 47-millimeter, because
it really truly does feel extraordinarily
large on your wrist.
Now, Sylvester Stallone wears a 47-millimeter,
even though he has very small wrist.
You'll notice that when you see him, he actually
popularized the Panerai.
That's a whole different kind of history.
Now with this, this is a 42-millimeter.
This one also has the Parisian Hobnail dial.
It's a little bit more simplistic.
It has the sub-second hand on the dial.
It also has the GMT function.
It also has the clear case back so that you
can see the movement.
You can see the winder in the back.
It fills the entire case back, as opposed
to the small one on the micro-rotor.
But when you lay them side by side, no matter
what size you get, and no matter which version
you get, you don't lose that personality.
You don't lose the color.
The consistency of the color is the same in
the 42, as it is in the 45.
That's not true of all manufacturers.
A lot of times when they offer a dial, they
can be - allegedly they're the same color,
but they look completely different depending
on the size.
They've kept these very, very consistent.
They look exactly the same all throughout
the lineup.
I highly encourage looking at Panerai.
It has an amazing history.
There's an enormous amount of people in the
world who collect these things.
By the way, each one of these has the year
and the number produced for that year stamped
into the back of the case.
There are ways of being able to decode those.
They have a letter, and then they have a number.
The letter is the year that it was produced.
You can decode that and know exactly what
year it was produced.
Remember each one of these styles, whatever
the Panerai watch, is specific to that year
and it has a very specific number that's made
worldwide, not regionally.
A lot of people get confused by that.
In other words, if you have 500 made, if the
caseback says 500 made, and this is number
270 out of 500, that's 500 worldwide that
was made that year, which makes that watch
very specific.
That's important because, sometimes Panerai
makes a certain watch for only one or two
or three years, and then moves on and changes
something, or just no longer makes it again.
There are people called [Paneristics] out
there who are extreme collectors of Panerais,
they know all the fine details.
They know that they want the box, the card,
the booklets, and all of that.
You don't need all of that.
With Panerai, these watches stand on their
own, regardless of the equipment that comes
with it.
You can buy all the straps.
You can buy the tools.
If it doesn't happen to come with it, it's
not a problem.
You can always find those items.
Panerai is an amazing company.
I encourage you to get ahold of us, find it
at SwissWatchExpo.com.
We have a large amount of them.
We've got more coming in.
We're really paying attention to the functions
and features.
As we hear from you and things that you like
to see or want from Panerai, we're going to
pay attention to that.
Leave us comments, click the like, subscribe,
ring the bell.
All of those things, make sure that we know
you're there because we want to bring you
the best that Panerai has to offer.
It's a great alternative to a lot of other
brands in the marketplace, because they're
truly customizable to your personality with
all the colors, the dial styles, the functionalities.
It's amazing.
It's a really amazing company.
Give us a call here at SwissWatchExpo.
