It took a while to get here, well 7 days including a stop over in South American DHL Depots, which from past theft experiences is a reason to shit yourself. Luckily my parcel was not tampered with and for a millisecond I crapped myself opening the wooden lid to see an empty black interior until I realised it was the Officine Panerai cloth covering the watch underneath!!!!
Anyhow since I'm new to the brand I must say I had great pleasure in unboxing this beauty, and I think Rolex could well learn a lesson in presentation even though I quickly discard / chuck the boxes in a cupboard until flipping time!!
I always liked the quirky look of the Luminor models due to the crown guards but I never really paid attention in any detail to the brand due to the seemingly endless repetitive models and confusing model numbering. Every time I've seen a model I like etc there was always some feature on it that I disliked (along with price) e.g. power reserve displays, painted dials, date, wrong case size etc. I'm still on the fence about the seconds dial although the 422 model was a close contender when I narrowed down my list!!!
Wayne on here recently purchased a base model which I must admit persuaded me to revisit Panerai however I was still not really convinced etc until I came across the 372 which on certain straps looked stunning on various forum pictures!
Looking at the specs it seemed to tick all my requirements
1950's case
Manual Wind
Sandwich dial
No second dial
No date
In-house movement
47mm
Plexi dome
I was a bit weary about the 47mm size however since the DSSD is my fave watch and I adore the size and chunkiness. I was hoping 47mm would not be too overkill. I studied a lot of 372 wrist shots and noted the owners wrist sizes and half of them were 6.5 inches etc whilst mine is a respectable 7.2 so I thought what the hell and off I went to search the web for one in decent condition & price along with the logistics of getting it out to the Falklands (which is no easy feat for high value items via South America!)
I purchased pre-owned from the US with a highly trusted seller from the Rolex Forum, however noticed he had it listed on eBay for the same price as his forum posting. I sensed if he was willing to take a hit on ebay and paypal fees then a discount was on the horizon. I thought what the hell and negotiated myself several hundred discount since I was happy to deal directly.
As per usual with these dealings the watch had a fair few hairlines on the polished case that didn't show up on his pics and the bezel has one tiny nick however for the price I was very happy with it straight out the box and loved it immediately on the wrist. The main downer was the plexi glass had a large scratch across it, or so I thought until about 3 hours later when I licked my finger and it came off - dirt!!
Now that I'm home from work and finally able to spend some proper time with the watch, I took off the OEM dark brown rather strap, cleaned the dirt off it (never understood why sellers don't clean up a watch before sending it) and then I started to work away with my sunshine cloth with the hairlines on the polished sections (much prefer them to cape cod cloths).
Anyhow what a difference the clean and polish did, it looks very shiny and new! I swapped over to the lighter "honey brown" OEM strap (I think I read somewhere it was called honey) and I'm very happy with it!
I must admit I sort of feel fulfilled Panerai wise and can't see how I would want another unless I went down the sporty Submersible route (I'm highly attracted to the Bronzo but I guess that will always be unobtainable)
Here are some pics, can't stop looking at her and it will only get better with straps to my taste!
Last edited by kultschar; 27th January 2014 at 23:39.
Without any doubts whatsovever, the 372 is the absolute best modern incarnation of a classic vintage piece, but with all the hassle free practicality.
Can be picked up pre-owned for alarmingly little money too. Enjoy
My perfect three. 232, 372 & 305.
Last edited by shadowman; 27th January 2014 at 23:46.
Great watch, I adore this model.
Congrats on your choice, enjoy.
You've made the best possible choice, wear it well.
And believe me, no way to compare ROLEX with PAM, Italians know how to make the things better, no Swiss can do this.
Cheers!
The 305 did catch my eye in the sporty PAM range and my Sub-C took a back seat to my DSSD (must banish these swap scenarios from my mind lol)Originally Posted by shadowman
Without any doubts whatsovever, the 372 is the absolute best modern incarnation of a classic vintage piece, but with all the hassle free practicality.
Can be picked up pre-owned for alarmingly little money too. Enjoy
My perfect three. 232, 372 & 305.
Thanks!!! Think I def made the right choice as I have not been this pleased since the day I purchased my DSSD!!
Clean and simple ,47mm great size .Nothing beats this on a leather strap.
Superbo
I've always been tempted to buy the 372, only if i had a bigger wrist. Great choice!
Congratulations on your new Panerai! It looks great. I've just sold my first Panerai to buy my vintage speedy. But I did really enjoy it (a 113 bought from this parish) and I hope to return to the Panerai fold at some point in the future. Enjoy!
Fantastic watch :-)
What a watch. The 372 is a really stunner. You've got me thinking now.
Congratulations. One of the nicest dial and case combos. Polished case and gold hands are wonderful. Now the strap dilemmas commence.
Congratulations on your first pam. Excellent choice. Plexi is sexy. I also prefer the gold hands and vintage markers. Because of that i bought my two pams. I have 359 and i would just want that he would have gold hands like yours 372 or mine other one 425. I think that you will enjoy it for a long time. That is always like that with panerai.
Yep, good choice.
Had this on my wrist last week at my local AD! VERY nice, perfect 'Jeans watch' for me.....
Very comfy on the wrist for a big watch. I slept with it on last night - lume was quite impressive!!
Think I have hunted down a Wotancraft 74 Strap at a good price, hopefully seal the deal today!
See what i mean!
Stop it..!Without any doubts whatsovever, the 372 is the absolute best modern incarnation of a classic vintage piece, but with all the hassle free practicality.
Can be picked up pre-owned for alarmingly little money too. Enjoy
My perfect three. 232, 372 & 305.
Really?? Are you not aware of Panerai's legendary poor customer service and chocolate 'in-house' movements? Not to mention overpriced ETA pieces.
Anyway OP - your 372 does look lovely. :)
Very very nice.. feeling a little jealous here!
This looks great! Congrats! Wear it in good health!
Thanks!!!
My other watches have not had a look in this week, nice to have something totally different!!
Cool watch!
An absolute stunner, love it.
I am hoping (will) to add 312 or 359 to my modest collection this year.
It is all I need now to feel complete in the watch department....
Paul
Love it Paul! I'd like to try one but at 47mm, I fear it will look more wrist-clock than wrist-watch on me :-(
Might be worth a try on mate next time your near a dealer, I was expecting Big Ben when I opened the box but was pleasantly surprised!!
Yeah I need to give one a proper go as I hear the lugs are quite short. I do love my 000 though, although I'm hoping to trade that for a 112. First world problems eh
Yeah in my research for the 372, many people claimed it wore small for a Panerai 47".
Sounds strange but I don't think I would want any smaller (for a PAM). As its my first I will certainly look forward to trying iothers when im next over to see for myself the PAM variations.
That is lovely. I have a 359 and whilst I love it I have to say compared to yours it looks very fussy? Good choice.
Well the first of my new straps arrived today - this is more like it!!!
The Gunny Mission Impossible 1 Strap (please excuse the crappy iPhone pic)
Nicee, and very appropriate. Liking that one a lot
The perfect combination of a classic dial in a modern watch.... Congrats with this beauty!
Congrats.
Having just bought my first Panerai, I can only warn about the dangers of having so many versatile strap options. I've had the watch less than a month and have just ordered my fifth strap......
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