The Breitling Watch Blog

Finally got a video of my PAM 320 posted on youtube, and here it is! My Panerai Luminor 1950 3 Day GMT in all its glory 🙂 I am still enjoying this watch very much and its quite frankly the most perfect Panerai I’ve ever owned. It has a minor complication (GMT) visible on the front, leaving the dial uncluttered, and two discreet complications that make the watch special, namely the rear power reserve indicator and the second reset when the crown is pulled out. Enjoy!

Now that the 2011 Vancouver Paneristi GTG has finished, and I’ve had a chance to upload the videos to youtube and post the photos to Paneraisource, I’ll make the requisite post here to let everyone know that it was a success, and to hopefully show some cool vids and pics to entice guys to come to the next one!

I’ve embedded the Youtube videos I shot of the event below, which are short, but I’ve also included some pics of the event at my Panerai Forum.

Its a good day for Panerai Collectors, with a new series of Special Edition Panerai’s announced at SIHH for 2011. Lots of goodies this year with an obvious focus on Brown Sandwich dials, Manufacture movements and 47mm Cases.

Beautiful stuff coming out, I’ve love one of those Bronze Submersible PAM382, but I doubt I will be one of the lucky 1000 people to snag one.

Here’s a brief summary of the line up:

Luminor 1950 3 Days PAM372

Radiomir 3 Days Platino PAM373

Luminor Composite 1950 3 Days PAM375

Radiomir 8 Days Ceramica PAM384

Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo PAM382

Luminor 1950 Chrono Monopulsante Left-Handed 8 Days Titanio PAM345

Luminor 1950 Left-Handed 8 Days Titanio PAM368

Luminor Submersible 1950 Regatta 3 Days GMT Automatic Titanio PAM371

Radiomir 3 Days Oro Bianco PAM376

Radiomir 3 Days Oro Rosa PAM379

Overall, a very satisfying line up of new watches from Panerai this year. I am quite stoked about these guys, but likely will never get the chance to own one of those Special Editions. I can always live Vicariously through the guys at the Vancouver 2011 Paneristi GTG though!

Before I bought the Panerai Black Seal PAM 183, I bought this RXW MM25 Poseidon. Its a Japanese company, but a Swiss Made watch made by Ken’s Trading. While it looks similar to the 183, its quite different in person and on the wrist. The watch came with two 26x26mm straps, quite different from the 26x22mm straps that come with the PAM183.

Here is the watch shown with the lizard pattern 26x26mm strap that came with it. The watch has fixed lugs so straps need to be screwed in with Rivets, making aftermarket straps very difficult to find in variety. Most will have to be custom made or have Rivets in them, which is not the best compromise because sometimes a guy just doesn’t want rivets in his strap! As you can see, it has a great sandwich dial and it glows like a torch.

Caseback is of the Solid Variety, hiding the Swiss Unitas 6497 movement inside. The caseback does proudly annouce the movement inside, as well as the 1000 Gauss Anti-Magnetic rating and 100m Water resistance. Also written on the back is “Luminova Plasmir Dial”, which means that it has a Luminova Sandwich dial.

Crown is a screw-down variety, just like the 183 but is a Brevet Swiss Crown. Its a great crown and feels good when winding. As you can see from the sideview shot, the Bezel protrudes out from the cushion shaped case a fair bit.

Here is the ever-important wrist-shot. When I got this I really really liked it… I thought it was a great looking watch and I couldn’t believe I didn’t like Radiomirs before. It wears quite a bit larger than my 183, but I have to say that after owning the 183, the RXW MM25 has lost a bit of its luster. I just did not want to wear it after getting the Black Seal, so I sold it! Bye bye MM25, but it was a great experience owning it, and I’m glad I did as it motivated me to buy the Panerai 183 Black Seal.

Wow, talk about rejuvenating one of what I felt was IWC’s more boring and dull lines… The Portofino line is refreshed with a brand new 8-day in-house movement, called the 59210. This is a beautifully crafted watch with the type of movement complications that I like the most: Simple, yet creative solutions to horological challenges that a collector and user of watches can benefit on a daily basis. An 8 Day power reserve is always useful, and the Power Reserve indicator also useful. The Date of course is something that I bet I read daily as well. No need for Chronograph or annual calendars here, as the efforts are put into more subtle areas of the watch.

Wow – I love that exhibition back. Quite possibly my favourite display back I’ve seen in a while. Love the large plates.

From IWC:
“Thanks mainly to its technological sophistication, the Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days (Ref. 5101) has established itself as the flagship of the Portofino family. Its reputation is founded not so much on outward appearances but internal values: ticking away inside the case is the new IWC-manufactured movement from the 50000-calibre family. With its 37.8-millimetre diameter, the 59210 calibre is the same size as a pocket watch movement, but its design is incomparably more modern. The contemporary movement design, with its large bridges and plates, is highly robust and reliable, and designed to meet all the exacting demands of watch devotees in the 21st century. Despite its undisputed elegance, the Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days is a watch designed for everyday use, not least because of its incredible stamina: it will run for precisely 192 hours – that’s 8 days – without any external help. Just how long the watch will continue to run before its owner needs to wind the movement can be read off from the power reserve display on the dial. IWC’s designers have remained true to the classical Portofino style, not only in the circular case with its smooth, flowing strap horns, but also in the design of the dial. The placing of the displays – small seconds at “6 o’clock”, date at “3 o’clock” and power reserve between “8” and “9” – ensures that the dial layout is finely balanced. The red gold Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days comes with a slate-coloured dial, which likewise features indices made of solid red gold. There is also a choice of two models in steel, with either a black or silver-plated dial.”