I have had this watch for sometime, and never took the time to write about it. After many members asking me about the beauty of a black pam, i decided to take sometime and make some shots and write about one of my fav pams.
Please bear with me if i may be long-winded or may have missed some info.
IntroductionThe PAM339 was a SIHH2010 release model, a very much awaited model which was not only controversial but in many ways different from the vintage i think.
Reason why i say this is because although it bears most of the essential characters of pam, but it looks very modern and un-vintage like. I will explain more below.
A total of 1500 pcs were made over a period of 2 years, and trust me it was a long wait. Some i know waited nearly 3 years for the watch.
HistoryLet me wind the clock back and explain why i think the above.
Main characters about the PAM339 which was so awaited for.
1) Marina Militare dial
As many may know, this MM dial is much sorted for as it's very rare and symbolises the essense of PAM (a navy instrument). Not many PAMs come with the MM dial. Examples are like the below.
** photos below are taken from paneristi and i have to give reference to the awesome ristis like Mr Sam Rotandi and Mr Socko himself
5218-202A (most famous MM pre-vendome used by rambo in his film)
PAM 36 (most sorted for MM dial post-vendome because of t-dial and 4 liner text)
photo below of a PAM36 and a 202A
PAM 217 (modern vendome piece 47mm)
PAM82 (modern vendome piece with blue dial)
see photo below for PAM36, PAM82 and PAM217
Aside from history and aesthetics, the main reason MM dials are so sorted for, is because it will be discontinued after the PAM339. Rumour has it that it's down to the ownership of this "marina militare" trademark. Hence Panerai announced the last model to use this to be PAM339.
2) 8Giorni brevettato
The 8giorni symbol is also referenced back to the vintages, mainly representing a movement with 8 days power reserve.
Models with the 8giorni dials are also very sorted out for as per below:
reference given to paneraisource.com
PAM341 (2009 - 60mm panerai)
PAM203 (2005)
3) Models with a combination of MM and 8giorni, are even more rare. only down to 2 models. and these didn't bear the 8giorni mark on the dial.
6152/1 Angelus
PAM 267 (only 6 made J series)
4) last of course, is a new material panerai coined as "composite". apparently this material is some sort of ceramic; derived from some sort of aluminium making it harder than steel but lighter than titanium. this is very true as once you put it on, there isn't much weight to it and it does not succumb to hairline scratches that easily.
What is in the package?As you can see from the above, by featuring 3 main characters, sounds like a winning formula already right?
The PAM339 is a 47mm composite radiomir design case.
The radiomir case is far different from its luminor sister, where it's more classy and dressy, since it's thinner and much easier to wear for people like me with small wrist (6.2")
I have to say, although with all the main characters i've mentioned, it doesn't really look like a vintage watch. More like a modern piece, but i have to say, it's a very beautiful modern designed dial to me.
It comes with a crystal glass and solid case back. So only complain here is that there's no way of looking at the movement, or even telling how much power reserve is left.
You can imagine, winding 8 days, without knowing how many days left are there
But i guess, even without that, it's still an awesome and beautiful piece to look at and to wear proudly.
What is in the package?The PAM339 comes with the best OEM strap to date which is the assolutamente and of course a composite buckle.
Being a Special Edition, it's given a big presentation box to fit its status. No complaints here.
Overall BuildSince day 1 the watch has been great for me (almost 10 months), and has not given me any particular problems. It feels great to wind and it feels well made.
However, there are some risti members complaining about a small case of discoloration.
I will not go into detail here as I have not seen any of the pieces i know of to discolor. Also there's only a small number of people complaining, and Panerai does offer replacements. So i treat this as a small and unrelated matter.
Comparison with Other Modelshere's a comparison between PAM249 47mm and PAM339
here's a comparison to include PAM232 47mm
here's a comparison between PAM339 and another 47mm PAM372 luminor case
Wrist ShotsOf course i cannot forget about the wrist shots!
** strap used is a simona large scale vintage gator
Special Column - DIFFERENT SHADES OF BLACKNormally i would end my review here, but this time because it's my first dark colored watch, i'd like to share some of my views.
Panerai make 3 types of dark colored (or black/brown/etc) watches now - PVD (pencil gray), ceramic (dark black) and composite (dark brown).
PVD of course is favorite with its 2b pencil metalic feeling.
Ceramic is sort after being the cheapest black material watch.
Lastly, composite is new and untested, so we will only know with time to come.
Please see below for some photos i prepared between a PAM28 luminor power reserve (PVD), PAM292 radiomir ceramica (ceramic) and PAM339 (composite).
Pardon my iphone photos as i didn't have my SLR ready.
PAM 292 left and PAM28 right
PAM 28 left and PAM339 right
PAM 339 left and PAM28 right
Also some photos of buckles, differences can be seen clearly:
that's all from me guys this time. i hope the above didn't bore most of you (especially those who don't fancy panerais, i know they are just 3 digits to you, but to people like me, they are so much more fun and meaningful).
till next time
