The mysterious PAM318

The mysterious Panerai 318.







It took me some time but I managed to find somebody who has a PAM318. I wanted to see this piece irl, I had to see it to believe it.



So thanks to the owner and thanks for having the guts to open this piece.

Let's start with a couple of pics of that good looking piece










Well, the watch itself is not mysterious but the movement is VERY strange.
I know that most Panerai collectors are not very much interested in Geneva stripes, bevelling, gold chatons, perlage, swan neck regulators and all the other thing which
we'll see on good finished movements.


Panerai is a tool watch, right ?
If you want something with a superb finishing, buy a Patek Philippe!
I agree but not 100%. The movement might not be the most important factor when buying a Panerai. Most of us buy them because of the looks, size, robustness, DNA, etc.
On the other hand, since Panerai started making inhouse movements I think we must admit that movements are important too.
Today, with 8 inhouse movements, Panerai is not anymore what it used to be. I went from a tool watch to a toolwatch manufacture.
The calibers P9000 - P3000 - P2002 - P2003 - P2004 - P2005 and P2006 are the reasons why Panerai got a lot of attention. Not only
by those who knew Panerai since years but also by other people who started to respect them because they became a manufacture.
Using ONLY modified ETA- Valjoux ébauches is the easy way but developing inhouse movements is the right thing to do if you want to get respect from all kind of watch collectors .


Anyway, not every movement has to be inhouse. In the past not 1 single was inhouse.Long ago it were ofcourse Angulus and Rolex movements but since 1993 ETA - Valjoux - Unitas was the base movement.

Here you have a list of these well known MODIFIED movements

OP I Panerai used them from 1997, base is an ETA 6497, used for the PAM000, PAM002,PAM009,PAM010,PAM055,PAM360

OP II ALso since 1997, same , base is the 6497/2, Used for the PAM005,PAM036,PAM082,PAM001,PAM003,PAM004,PAM022,PAM026,PAM056,PAM026,PAM040,PAM037,PAM061,PAM366,PAM412,PAM420,PAM413,PAM414,PAM380,



OP X Panerai used them from 2002, base is an ETA 6497,used for the PAM219,PAM112,PAM114,PAM176,PAM210,PAM231,PAM232,PAM249,PAM262,PAM116,



OP XI Panerai used them from 2002, base is an ETA 6497/2,Used for the PAM111 ,PAM113,PAM177 ,PAM183,PAM292,PAM127,PAM172,PAM217,PAM118,PAM115 ,PAM117










UNITAS 6497 : basically the same movement as the ones above but in the Pré-V era :-), PAM5218-201/A ,PAM5218-201/A,PAM5218-202/A,PAM5218-203/A,PAM5218-205/A,PAM5218-207/A,PAM5218-209,PAM5218-210,PAM5218-218/A,





(LAST picture : credits to Maurits bollen)









As you can see, this movement is still good for a HUGE part of all Panerai watches.

No problem thus far, You knew what you got when buying one of these watches. If your watch has a display back, you still can admire a good looking movement.
If it hasn't a display back, you know how it looks like because in every Panerai catalog you'll find pics of what an OP I , OP II, OP X or OP XI stands for.
You'll see it is a Unitas which looks much better than a standard Unitas.

Now what the hell went wrong with the Panerai 318 ???
At first sight one should expect an OP II or OP XI (XI is used for the display back so an OP II would have been the right choice)

But no, the movement seems to be an OP XXIX

This is the difference : The OPII has 21,600 alternations / hour and is COSC, The OP has XXIX 18,000 alternations per hour and is not COSC.

But it is very difficult to get more info on this XXIX, ask Panerai for info and you won't get what you hoped for :-). Only that the OP XXIX is exclusive for the PAM318.
Yes, the PAM318 is the ONLY Panerai which ever used this mysterious OP XXIX movement.

Now, when you open the watch, you'll see why Panerai doesn't want to give too much info. As much as I love Panerai watches, this is a shame.
Show this to anybody who ever saw some Panerai movements and he'll tell you that you're scammed. Yes, he'll say you bought a fake.

Besides, I took this watch to an AD and had to convince him that this watch is indeed a genuine Panerai. If he wouldn't know me I bet he wouldn't even believe me.

Just look at it. This piece of crap can be found in several watches under 500 euro. It's a cheap completely unfinished Unitas and as far as I know it's not even the best Unitas.
These movements come in different grades and this is definitely NOT the best they could buy.







This movement has nothing that makes you think it's a Panerai, no Geneva stripes, no bevelling, NO blued screws, no perlage (under the bridges), there's not even stamped 'Panerai' on any of the bridges.

The drilled holes for screws or jewels look bad.

And not all of these finishing option are just for the looks. Bevelling for example is much more than visual improvement Bevelling limits the risk of corrosion.











Here you have some pics from the 414 movement (OP XI) and the 318 movement (OP XXIX)



For those who are blind, left is the 414 right is the 318






























































































































So why the hell did this disaster ever got out of the factory ? Is this an error.Was it supposed to be like this ? I can't imagine it!
I just can't imagine that a top brand like Panerai would risk it's reputation to save a few Euro's. They only made 150 of these so it can't make a big difference. Maybe they saved 15.000 euro on the whole batch
But what is 15.000 euro for a company that sells about 50.000 watches per year at an average of 5.000 (?) euro.

So I give them the benefit of the doubt and I think this was not ment to be. Maybe something went wrong in their quality check process. If this was intended they really would take a big risk because I think nobody will accept
such a thing in a watch which costed several thousands of Dollars 2 years ago.


Besides,if this was intended we would see a lot more references with this XXIX movement (why not all the pig dial boutique watches, the 41x or what about the 366 'FU' for China)
If they used this movement for only 150 watches I have a feeling something went wrong and they will never make this mistake again.

Another possible indication that the OP XXIX is a mistake is the fact that in their 'limited edition catalog 1997 - 2010' there is nothing said about the XXIX.
On the contrary, when you look at the PAM318 they talk about an OPII :-) :-) :-) . Is this a mistake in their catalog or are they really ashamed for this error ?

"Don't wake a sleeping dog" ??? Better mention nothing about the XXIX, people might ask questions.







Don't worry, everybody makes mistakes. How or why these 150 slipped through is something we'll probably never know.



But I guess all the work was done and they were ready for shipment, when somebody discovered this mistake and they decided not to start all over again but just rename it to the OP XXIX




From the perspective of a collector I think this is very interesting, I think it can become an instant collectible
Something like an 'error card' or a 'postage stamp error', well you know what I mean.
One day these pieces could become very sought after, with only 150 of them they are VERY RARE.





Maybe I should start looking for one :-)









As a last note, to make it even more mysterious I would like to talk about conspiracy.

You know, there is an American saying ''to sell someone the Brooklyn Bridge' ..... google it's meaning and you'll be quite surprised.

Too lazy ? Here's the meaning;


sell someone the Brooklyn Bridge : to cheat someone in a business deal. -- *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of the Brooklyn Bridge* To cheat or trick someone: cheat, rip off, deceive, trick, swindle, entrap, string along, dupe, bilk, double-cross





Nooooooo, please tell me they wouldn't dare and this bridge on the back is coincidence LOL

_____________________________________________________________
For watch pictures : [www.bruno-wristwatches.blogspot.com]

Thanks Bruno for this very informative post on the various Unitas movements used.

I must agree that I was very surprised when I first saw the pic of the movement in PAM318 several weeks ago. Its just too raw to be expected from Panerai (even though collectors does not care too much anout the movement in Panerai). I hope its a mistake since the 41x series from the Boutique has nicely decorated movements, and that it was listed as OP II in the special edition catalog for PAM318. Well, you may be right that PAM318 may be more collectible after this as some collectors just wanted something that is rare or released with error....
Hope to find out more from Panerai on this.

PS: I do not think PAM0 and PAM5 uses the exact same movement (OP I) as the PAM2, PAM10, PAM1 etc. I recalled PAM0 and PAM5 uses the raw Unitas movement, thus the lower price. I have taken some pics of my PAM0 and PAM10 movements using my hp few years back when I sent them for servicing. Surprisingly there were Cote de Geneva finishing in the PAM0. Let me try to search for those pics.

Cheers!

chua
Panerai Forum Moderator



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2011 10:55PM by chuaks.

Though the Panerai catalog listed both the PAM0 and PAM10 having the same OPI movement, I am quite certain the finishing in the movement are different. I recalled when PAM0 and PAM5 was first released in 2004, Panerai clarified that both these watches will be using the Unitas movement without additional finishing from Panerai. Thus the price is lower that PAM111 and PAM112 etc.

Here are some pics of the movements in PAM0G and PAM10. Sorry for the really crappy quality as it was a last minute taken pic using my hp when I sent the watches for servicing :

Movement in PAM0 G series (1st series of PAM0) :



Movement in PAM10 :


As you see, the finishing on the movements in these 2 watches are different. PAM10 has the decorative finishing. For the PAM0, though it was supposed to be a raw Unitas movement with additional finishing from Panerai, there is indeed Cotes de Genève decoration on the movement in PAM0 which is a pleasant surprise.


Cheers!

chua
Panerai Forum Moderator

But here both are still modified. Both got other screws (blue screws, I think not the real blued because these in the cheaper Panerai watches seem to be painted and not heaten at 290 degrees Celsius. When you look at the head, you'll see that the slot is not blue inside, this means they are painted.
If they were heated, the entire screw would be blue...also inside the slot.
But that's fine for me.
Also the bridges are modified. If it are Geneva stripes are 50 'Panerai' stamps ... I don't care. Some persons will like the stripes, others the Panerai words. Not easy to see on your picture but I think I see some perlage between the bridges and under the balance on both movements.
Both movements are modified and took some extra work.
I don't know exactly when the went from 'panerai-panerai-panerai-...' bridges to the Geneva striped bridges (I guess around 6 years ago)

The XXIX on the other hand has nothing special
They probably bought it from ETA at probably less than 100 euro per piece and didn't any upgrade. They put the completely unfinished raw Unitas in the 318 which is for a 4-5K watch not done.

But like said, for a collector this might be very important because only 150 of these excist an Panerai made more than half a milion watches since 1997. Inhouse, Unitas base, GP base, JLC base, Dupraz, Zenith, Minerva, Lémania, Rolex, Angulus, ... and even a lot more
BUT ALL of these named above look very good .... except that VERY ugly OP XXIX we find in these 150 PAM318.

Dear Bruno,
thanks for this post, quite instructional for the history of Panerai calibers.

It is very surprising (and frankly disappointing) to see a sooooo cheap caliber inside a PAM.
I remember i criticized the finish of the PAM338 when i reviewed it, but this one is by far the worst i've ever seen for Panerai.
The doubt of a fake - as your AD thought - is legitimate.

By other hand i have to say that the Panerai finish is usually among the best and most accurate i saw....I might spend hours looking at the back of my PAM. In my (relatively poor) experience, Panerai's finish is even better than many other brands acclaimed for their finishing level.

I wonder whether a true hard-core Panerai fan cares of that anyway.
Most likely the early calibers in the '30 and '40 were not decorated and therefore might be more historically accurate.

This said, given the investment that a luxury watch implies, maybe it would be better (from a brand's prestige viewpoint) to be more transparent about these topics.

Just my 2 cents,
ciao,
slide68

I believe both movements were modified. I initially was expecting the PAM0 to have a "as-is" Unitas movement. So its nice to see the modification/decoration. Not sure if the blue screws were painted or actually heated blue screws.

It was in year 2005 (H Series) that Panerai switched from the "Panerai" engravement to the Cote de Geneva stripes.

Yes, the XXIX calibre is indeed disappointing.


Cheers!

chua
Panerai Forum Moderator