10 YEAR REVIEW: PANERAI REVIEW

Panerai
I’ve been a long time Paneristi and I can still remember my first one (PAM 112). During more than last 12 years I’ve played with couple of different models (including such icons as the 243 or 372) but still the one that I decided to keep and use was PAM000, known also just as ‘Zero’ or ‘Logo Base’. For those of you who are not familiar with Panerai, here’s a short history lesson. Officine Panerai (official name, which means ‘workshop Panerai’) was founded in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai. For decades, led later by founder’s grandson Guido Panerai, it supplied precision instruments to the Italian Royal Navy. Officine Panerai as a true watch brand started life in 1936 by delivering the first ever purpose-built military diving watches to the Italian Navy.

The watch was oversized (47mm case, which was considered a behemoth watch in 30’s), equipped with simple dial of extremely good underwater visibility both day and night (thanks to Radium-based radioactive glowing markers) and it was actually built in co-operation with Rolex. Yes, for years Rolex was one of the key supplier of cases and later also movements for Officine Panerai. So basically it was not just a watch – it was a tool of war, an essential part of the equipment for some of the best combat divers of that time – underwater demolition commandos of the Marine Nationale. That watch is known today as the Panerai Radiomir.

Over time Panerai produced other military diver’s watches, and one of them was a Luminor model introduced in 50’s, with the dial now painted with a safe tritium-based compound called ‘luminor’ (hence the watches name). What’s important and worth remembering is the fact that Officine Panerai has always been more than just a watch company – they issued many more marine tools of war for the Navy, including special purpose underwater torches, compasses, depth gauges, marine helicopter lights, signaling lights and even torpedo aiming devices with luminous sights. In fact it was only in the late 80’s when Panerai also opened sales to civilians. So, that’s how you should see the so-called ‘historical line’ of Panerai watches – as straight forward instruments with direct combat heritage and which are made to be easily readable in any conditions on land, sea or in the air, and should be able to survive more than other models in Panerai line. It’s not fashion-ticker, it’s a combat proven design which was never created with fashion in mind. Just remember that about it. There is a hell of a heritage in the DNA of an Officine Panerai watch.

Dial. 
PAM000 is quite a simple instrument – as simple as a tool watch can be. Just two hands – hour and minute. No second hand, no date, no distraction. No single minute indexes. Just a flat black dial, luminous markers separated by 5 minute intervals and 4 hour numbers (3, 6, 9, 12). Even though it’s still called Luminor, the paint used on the dial today is not the self-luminous Tritium-based Luminor paint, but a modern Super Luminova glowing material, which has to be charged with light first. It glows vigorously and lasts through the whole night. So yeah, the dial is as basic as it gets and also carries the Panerai logo… so now you know why this watch is nicknamed ‘Logo Base’.

Size. 
It’s not a small watch by any means, but it still wears surprisingly well on most wrists. Some people think it’s just too big with the massive 44mm case but again – it has never been a dress watch. It’s an underwater combat instrument (by genre) with a clear intent: to tell the time underwater, even in the most critical conditions – so not just in crystal clear waters of the Bahama islands but also in the dark muddy waters of naval harbor stations on the European seas. As a consequence it comes at a certain size and I believe 44mm is really the bare minimum for such kind of a watch. If you’d be looking for a watch to wear with a tuxedo, I’d recommend one of the sublime H.Moser & Cie dress pieces – actually I really like it’s clean design a lot.

Case. 
The stainless steel case measures 44mm in diameter and it follows the shape of historical Panerai Luminor watches. Quite simple, with no fancy elements in it… just what a tool-watches case should really be. The sapphire crystal is almost 4mm thick and slightly domed. Yes, I know, the first Panerai watches were equipped with Plexiglas back in the day, but today a scratch resistant sapphire option is more logical for me.

The hand wound movement (modified Unitas) is hidden behind a full stainless screw down case back. All the descriptions on the back are quite technical, without any decorations etc. just name, numbers, technical specs like the max depth rating. Thanks to the case and crown construction (more on that later) PAM000 is capable of diving all the way down to 300m below the see level. Did you know, that there are only TWO divers, who officially crossed 300m when scuba diving. 300m is a serious technical dive depth. There is only handful of people, who really dive that deep, and they do it in special suits on several-days-long missions. It’s much deeper than ANY military diver is going to dive down to. Ever. So 300m is surely good enough for me and you.

Movement. 

Inside the Zero you can find a true workhorse of the watch industry – Unitas 6497 with some important modifications vs. standard specs. As far I was able to find out it’s been reworked by Panerai for a better finishing of the gears, barrel and baseplate, which in the end gives much better accuracy and also a serious 56 hours power reserve. Of course it’s not a chronometer COSC certified watch due to the simple fact that second hand is not there – it’d be kinda hard to measure if the daily differences stay within COSC specification. Does it matter to me? Not at all! During the last 10 years I can’t remember a single instance when I really missed a second hand. And I’m talking about 10 years of actual use of the watch.

Another good point about that particular movement is, that it can be easily serviced anywhere in the world as it’s one of the easiest to service, most common and robust mechanical movements around. It is simple and it works. Workhorse indeed.

Strap. 
It’s as tough as the watch itself. The lug width on the Zero is rather serious at 24mm, the lugs are really massive and integrated with the case. The strap is held in place not by fairly fragile spring-bars but by a heavy duty threaded steel bolt on each side, which goes through stainless tubing, which reinforces the strap-to-watch connection. It’s tough as nails, period! There is NO WAY such a strap attachment gives up, the strap itself (or even your wrist) would give up first.

The buckle construction depends on a strap (yeah, strap changing is a daily routine for a true Paneristi, lol) and vary from screw-on with stainless bolt (as a standard) to sewn-in thick one-piece buckles in an iconic Pre-V shape, which are historically most correct and MUCH stronger vs. any other buckle. My personal preference? 4-5mm thick impregnated ammo pouch leather, fully hand stitched (double needle saddle stitch) with heavy duty historical 3mm thick sewn-in 1-piece buckle (straight of course). PAM000 comes originally with tapered leather strap (used it couple of times with suit) and additional diving rubber strap, superbly soft and comfortable. But, as I said – an ammo strap for me please.

Another strap option which works for me is the TedSu diving rubber strap with a diving clasp-buckle. It looks cool and works great. And it can be adjusted for a perfect fit thanks to the ingenious buckle design, which locks on the strap in any position, so you won’t be ‘between the holes’ anymore with this one.

Reality. 
Here we come to the key point – real world usability. I got my Logo Base about a decade ago, just before my daughter turned 1. Perfect, shiny, untouched. I can’t remember when exactly it happened but one day I decided to keep it and to make it my everyday watch – at home, the office and the great outdoors. The first scratch was the most painful (of course). The second one was easier. But after the first holidays with my daughter in a baby carrier on my back and highlands trail ahead, after the first bonfires, fishing, swimming in streams, and with 100’s more scratches on the shiny metal, well, I concluded it was perfectly fine. The Logo Base is a watch that just begs to be used hard.

The following years I was using it for any kind of outdoor activities, which included swimming, skiing, hiking and mountaineering. Kayaking? Sure! Mountain biking? Absolutely! Camping! Of course!

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