PAM312 Luminor 1950 Marina 3 Days Automatic

Officine Panerai introduced their new P.9000 range in-house movements at the 2009 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). The PAM312 is one of the watches that has this movement - and it's already available to the public. The Luminor Marina watches have always been very popular. Most likely because the design has two eye catching features that are very unique to Panerai. I'm referring to the crown guard (on Luminor watches) and the unique dial design with small sub seconds at the 9 o'clock position. FYI the Luminor Marina watches have this sub seconds dial, the Luminor base models don't.



The PAM312 is a beautiful watch in the Marina line that is just as great for casually dressed people as it is for those of us wearing suits. But it is a rather thick watch that might not fit that easily under your cuffs. Being a Panerai fan, you probably buy your shirts with that in mind anyway. I really love how the text on the dial is cream color as opposed to white - the same as it is on for instance the new 47mm titanium PAM305.



I've already compared the watch to the Panerai PAM104 in an earlier post, but being a huge fan of the PAM233, I obviously can't resist a small comparison with that watch - although sadly I don't have any comparison photos. The two watches share quite a few interesting features, both are housed in a 44mm 1950's style brushed steel case and both use a Panerai in-house (Manifattura) movement. The movement of the 233 is of course a hand-wound mechanical movement with a power reserve of eight days. The 312 is an automatic watch that will keep running for 3 days after you stop wearing it. Like the 233, the 312 has a date at the 3 o'clock position and the crystal doesn't have a cyclops on either watches. BTW none of the watches in the Manifattura line do.


Panerai PAM312 does not have a domed crystal

Besides that the 312 does not have a power reserve indicator on the dial and that is lacks a GMT function - the most important difference is in my opinion that the 312 does not have a domed crystal. When the PAM312 was first introduced I read that it would have a semi domed crystal. But although the crystal is not as flat as it is on for instance the 104, it's definitely not domed or semi domed. This may very well make the watch more attractive to some, but I personally think it would have even looked better with a domed crystal like the one on the 233.


Panerai PAM233 Luminor 1950 8 Days GMT does have a domed crystal

Another difference worth mentioning is that the 312 is water resistant up to 300 meters. The rating for the PAM233 is 100 meters. Considering that Panerai are well known for making divers watches, it is good to see that the new Manifattura line is living up to these standards again. Oh and of course, not everyone enjoys having to wind a watch so the fact that the 312 has an automatic movement might be a big plus for many as well.


PAM312 case back and buckle

The PAM312 has a crystal display back that shows the nicely finished bridges, the rotor and a small part of the P.9000 movement. The watch comes with a beautiful black crocodile strap (Panerai really do make the best quality crocodile straps) and a brushed steel buckle with Panerai engraved in it.

	PAM233	PAM312
case diameter	44mm 1950's	44mm 1950's
case material	brushed steel	brushed steel
bezel	polished steel	polished steel
crystal thickness	2mm	2.6mm
domed crystal	yes	no
date magnification	none	none
dial type	sandwich	sandwich
dial paint	luminova	luminova
nine on the dial	no	yes
lettering	light cream	cream
sub seconds dial	yes	yes
water resistance	100m	300m
strap changing	new push mechanism	new push mechanism
crown guard	reg. tm. engraved	reg. tm. engraved
power reserve	8 days	3 days
GMT function	yes	no
pr indicator	on the dial	none
movement	hand wound	automatic
movement model	in-house P.2002	in-house P.9000

You can find more photos of the PAM312 on paneristipix.com.

Related posts

The PAM104 and the PAM312 compared
PAM320 Luminor Marina 1950 8 Days GMT

All photos © 2009 M.Wilmsen