Over the years I have owned watches from most of the major and many of the micro brands and thought if I could put the aspects I liked from each together, what would the watch look like?
My favourite type of watch is loosely termed sports, be it diver/pilot/military influenced in style.
I also prefer no date, no crown guards, large black clear dial, no subdials, luminous hands and domed sapphire crystal preferably with no exterior AR coating to scratch.
Water Resistant enough to wear whilst swimming, polished case for ease of hairline scratch removal, hand wound movement, a larger sized case over 42mm, sandwich dial and also some heritage behind the brand name/design. A clear case back to see the movement would be a bonus but only if the movement was worth seeing.
I asked myself what brand produces watches that meet all of this criteria.......er.....Panerai.
But I have never liked Panerai as a brand!
Look at the Brooklyn Bridge fiasco when they supplied watches with undecorated base Unitas movements?
But that was only 150 watches out of tens of thousands, the movements were replaced and all current movements are now in house.
They lose a fortune from new!
Buy a pre-owned one that has already taken the hit!
Richemont service is terrible!
I’ve spoken to a few owners who’ve never had a problem, whilst some have had genuine issues there are probably thousands that haven’t, they just don’t post about it online.
There are also accredited repairers based in the UK that can be contact directly so it doesn’t have to go to Switzerland.
They are cutting quality and devaluing the brand with snap back cases and cheaper springbar strap fitment on some models.
Rolex stopped having drilled lugs on some models and that didn’t do them any harm.
WR remains the same and the lower priced models now also have a quality in-house movement at no extra cost.
They are a fashion watch!
They are not in fashion at the moment which means I can afford to buy one.
They go on about their heritage but aren’t made in Italy!
These days most luxury brands are foreign owned or produced.
Their range is too large and confusing!
Do some research, go on their website/watch forums and hone down the models according to the specific features that you want.
Their watches are too big.
Many models are sized to accurately reflect the original dimensions and have large movements that fill the case.
They have made the Due which only has 30m water resistance!
Don’t buy a Due.
Erm..... Archie Luxury doesn’t like them!
I think we’re clutching at straws here.
Fair enough!
So after finding the model that ticked all the boxes and a meeting with Andy ( Andyp1973 on this forum ) here we are, my Panerai Radiomir 425.
I won’t go into detail about this models history and specification, there is already plenty on the internet, these are just just my initial thoughts
What first grabs you is the size of the dial, with a slim bezel and no clutter, the large size and legibility is striking and purposeful. There is a beautiful symmetry of markings with this particular dial that is unique to the S.L.C models.
The very lightly textured Matt finish of the dial, sandwich hour cuts and engraved logos are flawless. The ‘pig’ logo is subtle and the pale brown lume ( that lasts until the morning ), compliments the rose gold hands perfectly. I like the fact that the hour hand has a divide in the lume so it’s instantly identifiable from the minute hand at night. The Crown is nicely engraved with both a frosted and polished finish, it’s not too large, doesn’t dig in your wrist and is easy to grip and operate with the deeply ridged sides, it also winds very smoothly with solid clicks and no grinding. The giant domed sapphire crystal really encapsulates the vintage look.
The case size is perfectly manageable on my 7 3/4”wrist with a good amount of space either side so no potential wrist overhang, although if my wrist was nearer to 7” I’d probably consider a 45mm model. The complex shapes from the twin surfaced circular bezel edge to the converging cushion sides to the multi faceted case back are machined perfectly and mould together organically.
Lugs can make or break a watch design in my eyes, especially larger watches and with the Radiomir bars, visually they hardly exist. The watch also sits very flat on the wrist and is amazingly comfortable for the size.
Panerai are criticised for making their Watches too large however this is an accurate representation of the brands history, is needed to house the in house P3000, pocket watch sized, three day, double spring barrel movement ( visible through the sapphire crystal case back ) and any less would be comprise.
With the combination of all these factors the watch ultimately feels very special when worn on the wrist and I certainly don’t just look at it to tell the time.
Obviously the styling of Panerai watches are not for everyone but if like me you have dismissed Panerai as a brand, I recommend buying one as a watch and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Lee
A few photographs of my new watch-
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