47mm Radiomir vs 44mm Luminor? And Radiomir dilemma...

[L3stat]

Hi all, I'm looking for a Radiomir to complement the 317 I have. I've been reading that the Radiomirs typically wear smaller than the Luminors due to the shorter wire loops, but haven't been able to find a comparison. If you compare the strap to strap "width" on a 47mm Radiomir to a 44mm 1950 Luminor, is the Radiomir bigger? And by how much? The 1950 44mm is probably the largest Luminor that fits on my wrist, which is a good/bad thing depending on how you look at it. Most of the ADs have no stock, and I don't want to trouble a private dealer to show me his stuff if I'm not sure about buying.

To set the context, I already have a black watch, thought something metallic would be nice, and suits the Radiomir look.

I've shortlisted 2 Radiomirs: the 8D manual (45mm), and the 10D auto GMT (47mm). 8D manual has 3 versions, steel (268), Ti with brown dial (346) and ceramic (384). Power reserve is a must, hence only these 2 models.

Have a couple of considerations so far. I'm not a big fan of polished steel, because scratches show up easily (like the polished center links on the Rolexes). I baby my watches and wear them usually with long sleeves, but still. Since I already have a manual, nice to complement with an auto, and particularly because I don't wish to wear out the crown with the constant unlocking to wind. And GMT will be a useful complication.

So really boils down to the 346 and 323. I like both but both have their drawbacks.

346
Pros: Brushed case, and brown dial looks really classy
Cons: Ti (hard to maintain, softer than steel), prefer to have PR on the dial, manual (wear on crown with need to wind, and I already have a manual)

323
Pros: GMT, auto, PR on dial (though I kinda prefer fang version)
Cons: 47mm might be too big, polished steel case

ARGH! Any thoughts?

[L3stat]

What's the difference between a Historic and Contemporary Radiomir? Is the case shape different?

[superdry]

essentially historics are hand wound movements whereas contemporaries are automatics . case shape should be the same.
personally i think your 317 would still look bigger than both 346 or 323 because of its chunkier luminor case profiles.
but i must say the tobacco dial with with gold hands on the 346 looks very very good .

[L3stat]

Ok. Thanks man. Managed to see a comparison photo between a 44mm 1950 and a 47mm Rad, looks like the 1950 is ever so slightly bigger.

[leeye]

a classic comparison, both housing similar movements but different case. the 45mm Radiomir still looks bigger to me.

[leeye]

the 323 (47mm) is a favourite of mine among the Radiomirs, comparing with the 346 (45mm).

[L3stat]

Thanks for posting the pics leeye, thing is those are stock photos from the website and may not be to scale. Panerai probably sized the photos to get a consistent look.

Lifted from another forum, a real life photo comparing a 335 (44mm 1950 case) to a 339 and 323 (both 47mm). Granted, there may be a parallax error depending on the angle, but doubt it. Measures about the same for both case types.

[unregistered]

It is quite an interesting conundrum to be honest.

From my perspective, the 45mm Rads wear smaller than a 44mm Luminor case. I can't handle the 210s and 183s. The 292 is the exception and I'm loving it for some strange reason it wears differently when most of the time black watches should wear smaller.

That said, I've not had a 44mm 1950 case for a long time so can't compare, but my 232 (47mm Rad) definitely wears larger than the 44mm Luminors and smaller than my 47mm 1950 case.

So it comes down to personal preference and also in some respect, how thick a strap you are going to be putting on there. The 292 wears completely differently when on the OEM black calf 27/22 and when I put on a thick Gunny74 26/26.

[L3stat]

Hi there, thanks for sharing your perspective. When you said the 232 wears larger, did you mean the case height or the distance between the lugs? I have no issues with case height, just don't want the lugs to "overhang" wrist, or there to be "air" between the strap and my wrist. The 1950 44mm lugs go just a tad beyond my wrist, but because the strap swivels at the lugs, there is no gap.

[unregistered]

The 232 wears larger in expanse & landscape and slight overhang. Definitely not in height as its relatively thin compared to a 44mm Luminor.

[Paneraii]

323
Pros: GMT, auto, PR on dial (though I kinda prefer fang version)
Cons: 47mm might be too big, polished steel case

It is not too big really. on the contrary, radiomir looks bigger, imo

323 will be awesome and flexi 4 many occasions.

[L3stat]

To update, I ended up with a 384:



Paired with the Assolutamente 27/22. Looks really good. I like this strap much better than the stock strap.

[Paneraii]

WOW! That is a fierce watch!! good catch......

[L3stat]

Hahah thanks man. If anyone's interested there's another one for sale at the other watch forum. Oh but I'm sure you knew that already.