Panerai dilema - which model to go for?

[shep1001]

Bloody auto correct!!!........


So I have decided to treat myself for my 40th birthday coming up in a month or so and want to add a Panerai to my collection. I already have 2 Rolex, an LV Sub & Air King + a Tag Monaco & a Breitling Super Ocean 42. I am comfortable with who to source the watch from and conveniently they have both models I am interested in.

I am considering a new PAM 0088 or a soon to be 3yr old chorono PAM 0188 boxed with its papers & spare strap which is in mint condition, I understand this model is now discontinued. There is £600 difference in price between the 2 watches which does not bother me but I can't really afford to buy both.






At the end of the day a watch like cars can come down to personal choice but other peoples opinions & experience is often useful so which would you go for and why?

Thanks in advance - Shep

Edited by shep1001 on Friday 20th March 19:02

[shep1001]

Grey Ghost said:

I really like the bottom one, nice clear face and slightly different rubber strap

Currently have the optional rubber strap on my MBIII and rather like it

I like the idea of a white face too as I think it goes better with a wider variety of strap colours. Not sure about brown on black but I do have a tan strap for my Superocean which has a black face/bezel

[shep1001]

Variomatic said:

Thank heavens for the auto-correct! For a moment I though it was going to be a thread about how "My watches are my life. They're my baybeeeess!!!!!"

Must admit to not being a huge Panarai styling fan but, out of those two, I'd go for the first. But that's because it's marginally less "Panarai" looking to my eye, so may not be a good recommendation for someone who likes their style

Thanks Joe. With your technical head on as you obviously know a thing or two about time pieces, is one technically better than the other in terms of its movement? I originally wanted the PAM 088 and had been watching it for a while, I then saw the 0188 which is also nice and a little bit rarer as there were only 700 of them made. Its a bit cheaper too which satisfies the northern tightness in me but I don't want that to get in the way of what is potentially a better watch.

Andrew

[shep1001]

Hoofy said:

Neither do it for me.

PS What's it got to do with your parent?

Auto corrected Panerai to parent before I realised!

[shep1001]

Slagathore said:

How flexible is the budget?

I've just ordered one from an AD in Germany, and with the exchange rate and a small discount, I saved a nice amount.

Might be worth looking in to and gives more options. Although, stock levels don't seem to be great.

4.5k for the pam 088 is the cheapest I have found anywhere inc Europe taking travel into account

[shep1001]

Slagathore said:

Bloody hell. Assuming a few hundred quid for travel, that's a massive discount.

Did you have to haggle much for the discount?

No 4.5k is before I hit them up for a discount. About 15% off list

[shep1001]

Slagathore said:

Note to self - haggle more!

Is it from an authorised dealer, and who is supplying it, if you don't mind me asking?

Iconic Watches aka Ancient & Modern in Blackburn, they source via the AD network so the watch would come with its two year manufactures warrenty. Decided to go for the PAM 0188 in the end, it just felt & looked 'right' when I tried it on, got a better deal too. The PAM 088 is still in production so if I kick my ass up a gear Q3/4 2015 bonus might allow me to buy one. Next time I am over at the company offices in Germany I might hunt down an AD out there and see how the price fairs as I won't have to cover my travel costs.

Edited by shep1001 on Tuesday 24th March 07:38

[shep1001]

Lost soul said:

That is lovely

As soon as I put it on it looked so much better than the pics compared to the PAM 088, I was a little worried at first about the size but even on my small-ish wrists it looks OK. At first I was only considering the 088 but this one came up so I popped up to Blackburn and sealed a deal.