Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Panerai, do I need another?

I just picked up my Panerai 2009 catalogue. OK it is a bit late, but it is difficult to get English catalogue here in Taiwan. Anyway I got both the normal catalogue and the Manifattura catalogue. Why have 2 catalogues? Well, the normal one list the entire Panerai offerings for 2009, minus the Special Edition, but including the Manifattura. The Manifattura catalogue is bilingual in that it is in English and Italian. There are also additional facts about the 'manufacture' calibre and unlike the normal catalogue where we can only see the face of the watches, in the Manifattura, we also get to see the back.

The catalogues. The larger one is the Manifattura catalogue and the smaller one is the normal catalogue.


The Manifattura catalogue.


The normal catalogue.


So back to the problem (?). I was looking at the Manifattura collection and the new P.900X movement seems to tickle my fancy (also it is the most affordable). I would like to get a 'manufacture' movement, and the P.900X does that. However, truth be told that the possibility of me getting a new Panerai lies between 'zero' and 'naught'. SIGH!

The issue now becomes a hypothetical issue. Anyway, I narrowed the models down to the following (just in case I strike it rich):

PAM 00320 Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic 44 mm
PAM 00312 Luminor 1950 Marina 3 Days Automatic 44 mm
PAM 00305 Luminor 1950 Submersible 3 Days Automatic 47 mm

Firstly, I always liked the 1950 case design. It is slightly different from the standard Luminor Marina case of the Historic Collection. All the Luminor watches in the Manifattura are of the 1950 case design (thus far). I like the PAM 00312 as this is as close to the Historic Collection Luminor Marina. I streamlined my Panerai collection (if you can call it that) to only watches from the Historic Collection (with sub-seconds). However, I also like the new 1950 Submersible. It also replaces the PAM 00024 Submersible I sold off a long time ago (I miss it). At the same time, I have always liked the GMT function. The PAM 00320 addresses this. I guess it boils down to the movement.

Both the PAM 00312 and 00305 are fitted with the basic P.9000 movement. The PAM 00320 is fitted with the P.9001 movement.

P.9000 basic specifications:
Automatic
13 3/4 ligne
7.9 mm thick
28 jewels
28,800 A/h
3 days power reserve
197 components

P.9001 basic specifications:
Same as P.9000 but 1 extra jewel and 229 components.

In terms of functions, both the P.9000 and P.9001 offers hours, minutes, small seconds and date complications. The P.9001 has these as extra, second time display, power reserve indicator (rotating disc) and seconds reset. The second reset allows for watch synchronisation. Looking at the functions alone, the P.9001 wins hands down. The questions then why not the p.9002? Well I don't really like the power reserve display, so having the power reserve display (on the P.9001) hidden in the back of the watch helps.

I guess I will have to go with the PAM 00320 based on the above arguments. But like I always say, it depends on which watch sings to you when you see them. But since this is a hypothetical question, and the fact that getting to see all 3 watches at the same time has the same probability as me getting a new Panerai, it does not really matter. Oh well.....

The watches in question:

PAM 00320 Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic 44 mm


Note the discreet Power Reserve indicator.


PAM 00312 Luminor 1950 Marina 3 Days Automatic 44 mm



PAM 00305 Luminor 1950 Submersible 3 Days Automatic 47 mm



Photographs: Panerai

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