Which Panerai?
Discussion
jules_s said:
Depends on what size and style you fancy 
This, to be honest.I really fancy a Panerai as my next watch, but in my perfect collection I'd have 2 or 3, as you have the Radiomir and Luminor which are their own unique styles, then different variants of those such as the 1940, 1950, Due, Submersible etc.
Is there a particular one that has caught your eye?
Jonny TVR said:
Doofus said:
Not a Panerai.
So none of them hold their value even if you buy usedThey will always be worth something but I doubt many experts would recommend one if you were looking for an 'investment'.
I'd be looking for (and realistically, I probably am) a 44mm Luminor; a 777, 1313 or maybe a 564
It seems that generally, they lose value from new.. The exception is certain limited editions that when discontinued seem to hold strong values on the used market, you can check Chrono24 for example, to see how the prices compare new vs used..
There's a really cool history to the brand IMO but just briefly and from my understanding (so apologies for any errors)...
In terms of the original watch, I believe the Radiomir with the cushion case and wire lugs is essentially the original Panerai watch, and named for the Radium material used for the lume..
After that, the Luminor began production and supplied to the Italian navy, with the large crown guard / clasp as its trademark feature - this also had a 'cushion' shaped case, but with thicker lugs. And moved away from radium to luminova as lume material (hence the name)...
The Luminor was redesigned in later years, I believe it's referred to as the 'Bizzarini' case style, which retains the thick lugs and famous crown guard, but the case has a much more 'slab-sided' size profile. I think, but not sure, that this redesign came about when Panerai was bought by the Swiss Richemont group.
They then released the Luminor 1950 as a separate model range, which brings back the cushion style case of the early Luminor watches.
Those are what I'd consider the three main model families - the wire-lug Radiomir, the cushion-case Luminor 1950, and the 'Bizzarini' / slab-sided Luminor.
Along with those, you have the newer Radiomir which uses thicker lugs rather than wire ones, the Luminor Due which I'm not certain on, but believe is an off-shoot of the Luminor range where the watches are thinner, smaller diameter, precious metal, or a combination of all 3 (more female-oriented I suppose), and finally the Submersible which is their more varied range, you have big bronze pieces, proper dive pieces (500m etc), and fancy materials like Carbotech etc.
There's some really good online resources and videos both for all the model variations and types, as well as the history of the brand and models - it has quite a dedicate following.
Finally in terms of straps, I honestly wouldn't worry too much about what comes with the watch when deciding what to buy, as Panerai make so many different straps that you can easily swap them and change the watch - they do leather, suede, rubber, canvas etc. It's quite popular to mix it up and you'll often see used watches with several straps included that the owner has collected.
There's a really cool history to the brand IMO but just briefly and from my understanding (so apologies for any errors)...
In terms of the original watch, I believe the Radiomir with the cushion case and wire lugs is essentially the original Panerai watch, and named for the Radium material used for the lume..
After that, the Luminor began production and supplied to the Italian navy, with the large crown guard / clasp as its trademark feature - this also had a 'cushion' shaped case, but with thicker lugs. And moved away from radium to luminova as lume material (hence the name)...
The Luminor was redesigned in later years, I believe it's referred to as the 'Bizzarini' case style, which retains the thick lugs and famous crown guard, but the case has a much more 'slab-sided' size profile. I think, but not sure, that this redesign came about when Panerai was bought by the Swiss Richemont group.
They then released the Luminor 1950 as a separate model range, which brings back the cushion style case of the early Luminor watches.
Those are what I'd consider the three main model families - the wire-lug Radiomir, the cushion-case Luminor 1950, and the 'Bizzarini' / slab-sided Luminor.
Along with those, you have the newer Radiomir which uses thicker lugs rather than wire ones, the Luminor Due which I'm not certain on, but believe is an off-shoot of the Luminor range where the watches are thinner, smaller diameter, precious metal, or a combination of all 3 (more female-oriented I suppose), and finally the Submersible which is their more varied range, you have big bronze pieces, proper dive pieces (500m etc), and fancy materials like Carbotech etc.
There's some really good online resources and videos both for all the model variations and types, as well as the history of the brand and models - it has quite a dedicate following.
Finally in terms of straps, I honestly wouldn't worry too much about what comes with the watch when deciding what to buy, as Panerai make so many different straps that you can easily swap them and change the watch - they do leather, suede, rubber, canvas etc. It's quite popular to mix it up and you'll often see used watches with several straps included that the owner has collected.
Jonny TVR said:
That is a nice one!I'm after a PAM720 which is a Radiomir but similar style - nice clean dial, classic look..
Jonny TVR said:
I like the blue faces on the first two doofus.
For me, there are certain necessities. Luminor (I'm not a fan of the Radiomir case), small seconds, no date, sandwich dial in not black.I'd like a submersible, but it'd have to be Goldtech, and that's less water resistant than a regular Luminor.
Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff