Panerai Radiomir Manual PAM00339
In 1956, at the request of the Egyptian Navy, Officine Panerai built a watch bigger than any Panerai before it, and at 60mm, the GPF 2/56 was a monster that also marked Panerai’s first attempt at case-making. Before then, the cases and movements had been supplied by Rolex, with Panerai providing the glowing dials its underwater equipment had become famous for. One of the key features of the ‘Egiziano Grosso,’ a nickname meaning ‘big Egyptian,’ was its movement, the first in a Panerai watch that hadn’t been provided by Rolex.
The Angelus 240 SF movement in the Egiziano Grosso had a power reserve of a whopping eight days, which allowed covert diving operations to continue without compromising the water-resistance of the watch. On the dial was engraved, ‘8 Giorni Brevettat,’ meaning ‘8 Days Patented,’ in the same arrangement as can be seen on this Panerai PAM00339. Today, the patented eight day movement that powers the PAM00339 is the Panerai Caliber P.2002/7, a completely in-house movement that draws its power from three winding barrels.
Combining the new with the old is the ceramic composite case, manufactured using the electrochemical process of aluminium ceramization. The heated aluminium cases are immersed into a chemical bath and subjected to plasma electrolytic oxidation, a surface treatment that allows the ceramic particles to form crystals on the aluminium’s surface. This makes for a stronger, more durable coating than methods used by other watchmakers, and a material that is harder than steel and titanium.
As another nod to the secretive military history of Officine Panerai, the dial is marked, ‘Marina Militare,’ the name the Italian Navy adopted after Italy became a republic in 1946, and the name applied to the dials of military issue Panerai watches from then on. The PAM00339 represents generations of Panerai watches from the beginning to the present, and offers an excellent opportunity to own a part of that on-going history.
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- Manufacturer: Panerai
- Range: Radiomir Manual
- Model: PAM00339
- Age: 2011 (1 year old)
- Gender: Gents
- Case: Titanium
- Bracelet: Leather - Brown
- Size (MM): 47
- Dial: Brown Quarter Arabic