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Read this article from a watch magazine recently and thought I may as well share with the community.
With more in-house movements coming on-stream for PANERAI's new collections, how different are the new models as compared to older ones?
The year 2009 marks another milestone for Officine PANERAI as its P.9000 calibre became the newest to join its growing family of in-house movements. There are three calibres within the P.9000 line - the base P.9000 which the hour, minute, seconds and date features; the P.9001 with the additional functions of a second time zone, a power reserve display found on the back and a seconds reset. Meanwhile the difference between the P.9001 and the P.9002 is that the power reserve display is found on the dial of timepieces housing the latter.
With the three new calibres, PANERAI's in-house portfolio of movements now boasts of eight calibres: the P.2002, P.2003, P.2004, P.2005, P.2006, P.9000, P.9001 and P.9002.
Obviously, an in-house developed and produced movement will be costlier as compared to a third-party supplied calibre even if modified. How much more will a PANERAI housing an in-house movement cost as compared to one powered by a third-party calibre?
To find out, we compared the PAM 104 with its closest comparable, the PAM 312 introduced in 2009 and with the Calibre P.9000 automatic movement. "The PAM 104 is among our best-selling models," acknowledges Antonius Kerssenbrock, brand manager, Officine PANERAI who is based in Singapore and is responsible for the surrounding regional markets. "The top-up is not very significant," he adds. In fact, we discovered that the difference is only around 700 euros or S$1,400.
Whether the perceived value of a pre-owned wristwatch with an in-house movement will be higher than one without is debatable and depends on many other factors. What matters more is what a collector will get more of or less of with the new in-house movement.
In terms of overall aesthetics, both the PAM 104 and the PAM 312 look highly similar. The obvious differences will be the "Cyclops" or date magnifier on the PAM 104 (there isn't any for the PAM 312) and the fact that you won't find the word "Automatic" on the dial of the PAM 312 under the PANERAI branding. Another difference is the thickness of the sapphire crystal which will be difficult to tell - the sapphire crystal of the PAM 104 is around 1mm thicker.
More importantly, on the technical front, the in-house produced P.9000 automatic movement has 72 hours of power reserve when fully wound, thanks to two mainspring barrels as compared to 42 hours for the OP III using the base Valjoux 7750 calibre. Collectors will also be able to appreciate PANERAI's in-house movement as it has a see-through case back (the PAM 104's case back is non-see-through).
The PAM 104 was introduced in the year 2002 (E series) and is still a regular production piece. However, as more P.9000 movements are produced, we figure that this model will be discontinued in a matter of time especially if the PAM 312 becomes its official replacement.
The top-up for an in-house movement as seen in a PAM 312 doesn't seem unreasonable having understood the differences. Apart from more power reserve, you can also have more viewing pleasure, this time from the case back.
Happy reading..
With more in-house movements coming on-stream for PANERAI's new collections, how different are the new models as compared to older ones?
The year 2009 marks another milestone for Officine PANERAI as its P.9000 calibre became the newest to join its growing family of in-house movements. There are three calibres within the P.9000 line - the base P.9000 which the hour, minute, seconds and date features; the P.9001 with the additional functions of a second time zone, a power reserve display found on the back and a seconds reset. Meanwhile the difference between the P.9001 and the P.9002 is that the power reserve display is found on the dial of timepieces housing the latter.
With the three new calibres, PANERAI's in-house portfolio of movements now boasts of eight calibres: the P.2002, P.2003, P.2004, P.2005, P.2006, P.9000, P.9001 and P.9002.
Obviously, an in-house developed and produced movement will be costlier as compared to a third-party supplied calibre even if modified. How much more will a PANERAI housing an in-house movement cost as compared to one powered by a third-party calibre?
To find out, we compared the PAM 104 with its closest comparable, the PAM 312 introduced in 2009 and with the Calibre P.9000 automatic movement. "The PAM 104 is among our best-selling models," acknowledges Antonius Kerssenbrock, brand manager, Officine PANERAI who is based in Singapore and is responsible for the surrounding regional markets. "The top-up is not very significant," he adds. In fact, we discovered that the difference is only around 700 euros or S$1,400.
Whether the perceived value of a pre-owned wristwatch with an in-house movement will be higher than one without is debatable and depends on many other factors. What matters more is what a collector will get more of or less of with the new in-house movement.
In terms of overall aesthetics, both the PAM 104 and the PAM 312 look highly similar. The obvious differences will be the "Cyclops" or date magnifier on the PAM 104 (there isn't any for the PAM 312) and the fact that you won't find the word "Automatic" on the dial of the PAM 312 under the PANERAI branding. Another difference is the thickness of the sapphire crystal which will be difficult to tell - the sapphire crystal of the PAM 104 is around 1mm thicker.
More importantly, on the technical front, the in-house produced P.9000 automatic movement has 72 hours of power reserve when fully wound, thanks to two mainspring barrels as compared to 42 hours for the OP III using the base Valjoux 7750 calibre. Collectors will also be able to appreciate PANERAI's in-house movement as it has a see-through case back (the PAM 104's case back is non-see-through).
The PAM 104 was introduced in the year 2002 (E series) and is still a regular production piece. However, as more P.9000 movements are produced, we figure that this model will be discontinued in a matter of time especially if the PAM 312 becomes its official replacement.
The top-up for an in-house movement as seen in a PAM 312 doesn't seem unreasonable having understood the differences. Apart from more power reserve, you can also have more viewing pleasure, this time from the case back.
Happy reading..
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