Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days – 47 mm “Paneristi Forever”


Many watch brands have their communities of diehard fans, but few can match the intense devotion of the Paneristi, the group of Panerai watch enthusiasts that have met regularly for 13 years on the independent, online forum www.paneristi.com to share their passion for the brand. Panerai has rewarded its most loyal supporters with a limited-edition watch in their honor.

The watch, called the Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days – 47mm “Paneristi Forever” and tagged with reference PAM00532 (Paneristi are big on referring to the watches by PAM numbers), sports a Radiomir 1940 case made of DLC-coated steel. The case is the same type as the transitional one between the original Radiomir and Luminor cases, and its large 47-mm diameter is identical to that of the very first Panerai prototype from 1936. The matte black DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) case is a first for a Panerai Radiomir 1940 watch.

The minimalist black dial uses Panerai’s hallmark “sandwich” construction and features a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock. Above the 6 o’clock position is a visual nod to Panerai’s history as a supplier of instruments for Italian naval commandos: a relief image of a Siluro a Lenta Corsa, the “human torpedo” on which the commandos carried out underwater missions while wearing Panerai products on their wrists. (Click on watch photos for larger images.)

Panerai Radiomir Paneristi Forever - PAM00532 - soldier

Panerai Radiomir Paneristi Forever - PAM00532 - front

 

The watch devoted to the Paneristi contains Panerai’s Caliber P.3000, a hand-wound movement designed and built in the Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The movement boasts a three-day power reserve, owing to two spring barrels connected in series and an unusually large balance wheel (13.2 mm in diameter), which oscillates at a frequency of 21,600 vph. It also has a device that enables the hour to be adjusted without interfering with the running of the minute and seconds hands.

The case of the Radiomir 1940 3 Days – 47mm “Paneristi Forever” is water-resistant to 100 meters, and has a screwed, solid steel caseback engraved with “Paneristi Forever” The watch is delivered on a strap made of natural, untreated leather, with a trapezoidal steel buckle that is also treated with matte black coating.

Competition to acquire one of these watches (price: $12,600) is likely to be fierce: according to Panerai, the Paneristi online community has grown to encompass many thousands of Panerai aficionados from all around the world, and this special-edition watch is limited to only 500 pieces.

 

Panerai Radiomir Paneristi Forever - PAM00532 - back

This article was originally published on October 3, 2013, and has been updated.

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  1. MrTissot

    $12k USD for a PVD coated stainless steel case and no date!! You have got to be kidding!!

    Reply
  2. Leonard Martinez

    I had to buy a Panerai to see what was so special. So I bought a PAM24. There’s nothing special, and linking its fame to Hollywood celebrities makes me sick that I bought it. I’d rather wear my Anonimo Marlin than the PAM. Panerais are over-priced and over-hyped, and that a group of watch snobs called the “Paneristi” exists, turns me off. I don’t want to be a part of anything like that. Give me an honest boutique watch any day. The PAM will be going up for grabs on eBay soon.

    Reply
    • Even though its the brand that made “size matter” when it came to timepeices…and hence the brand adopted by less than secure showbiz types who wanted to show they value the subtlety & understatenent of a well crafted timepiece (as long as its not too subtle and understated to get noticed)…who are we to say panerais dontdeserve our admiration? Besides unlike breitling and travolta and royal oak and everyone from “ahnold” on…panerai to my knowledge has never had a staristi paneristi…what’s an honest boutique watch anyway? To me the only dishonest ones are those that are more boutique and bling than watch…panerais real inside and out…it may not be your real. ..and that’s fine…and why eBay was created…but it’s still considered a respectable brand especially with their new movements…and before u ask …I only own one…I collect multiple time zone timepieces…and size doesn’t matter…except the size of the price tag!

      Reply
  3. JFD Hamilton

    Jonathan,
    I agree with you wholeheartedly, Panerai was once a teeny, tiny little dive instrument/ “tool” watch shop in Florence…everything other than the movements were made by craftsmen in the Florence area. They made mainly dive depth & pressure gauges and diver’s timepieces for the Italian Navy. and only a few timepieces for “regular” customers. In the 80’s or 90’s all that changed starting with Hollywood types “discovering” Panerai. Then a nice BIG multi-national felt that Panerai could be transformed from a “tool watch” maker into a “big league” watch company.
    So, now they are not made in Italy any more, make overly complicated movements and are not in any way tool watches – in fact one could argue that they are now “fake” Panerais – they only look like Panerais, the “real” ones are still made in Florence by the same people that always made them and are, not so subtly, named An______s.
    Inevitable I suppose, that the art of watch making is now merely another exercise in big business greed. Today watches, tomorrow, “smart” phones…MBA’s are now more important than watchmakers…

    Reply
  4. I agree with last statement by Mr. Fink. Prices are going through the roof as of late, and for what? A different color, a different movement. Lets face it Panerai watches are all basically the same. Two different model cases and different dials. The difference between a $6,000 watch and $25,000 is minimal.

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  5. Jonathan W. Fink

    Panerais are incredibly large watches. That being said, they are the most tastefully designed large watches I have ever seen. From a quality standpoint I have concerns. Specifically what makes the new in house hand wound 3 day movement significantly better than the old Unitas movement? From a value standpoint, I also have concerns. For 12K, I could buy a Zenith El Primro, with one of the greatest self winding chronographs in the history of horology and have some change left.

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