About This Watch:

Honoring a period of transition around 1940, when Panerai moved from the traditional Radiomir case to what would eventually become the Luminor case, the Panerai Radiomir 1940 Acciaio PAM 512 is truly the best of both worlds. Moving from the thin wire lugs and large onion-style crown of the original Radiomir cases, the PAM512 features thicker horn-style lugs and a smaller crown with no crown guard, giving this timepiece a sportier aesthetic in a highly comfortable 42mm case size.

The History: Beginning in 1860, Guido Panerai & Figlio in Florence, Italy, began producing high-precision instruments built for the Royal Italian Navy. In 1938, as Officine Panerai, they began producing wristwatches for the Italian Navy Commandos, with the Radiomir and later the Luminor. It wasn’t until 1993 that they began to produce versions of the Radiomir, as well as the Luminor, for sale to the public internationally.

The Watch: The Radiomir 1940 Acciaio PAM 512 features a 42mm stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal, a polished fixed bezel, and an exhibition case back. The 512 utilizes a hand-wind Calibre P.999 movement with a 60-hour power reserve. The black sandwich dial with Arabic numerals at the 12, 3, and 6 o’clock positions, a small seconds sub-dial at the 9 o’clock position, and a lume plate underneath the dial. The sword-type hour and minute hands and the small second's hand are lumed.

The Details: This Panerai Radiomir 1940 Acciaio PAM 512 shows minimal wear on the case, case back, and lugs, as visible in the photographs. This timepiece includes the outer and inner boxes, the Officine Panerai pearwood case, an instruction booklet, the certificate booklet with serial number stickers, and the original Panerai black alligator leather strap with stainless steel Panerai tang-style buckle.