Watches & Wonders – Panerai PAM624 & 625 1940’s Radiomir Oro Rosso

Officine Panerai in keeping with the 1940’s case releases at the 2015 Watches and Wonders show in Hong Kong, released a pair of beauties in Oro Rosso (Red Gold). These Special Edition Panerai PAM624 & PAM625 models can be considered brothers, with just a slight variation between the two pieces.

The PAM625 and PAM625 are 48mm 1940’s cases done in red gold and feature a 10 day power reserve with GMT & Date function. The only difference between the two models is the color of the dial and the strap that comes on the actual watch. The PAM624 features a brown satin solei reflective dial with brown alligator strap while the PAM625 features the black stain solei reflective dial and black strap. I first fell in love with this dial on some of the local boutique editions that featured the blue version of it. I think the combination of the reflective dial and red gold are a winner on every level, no matter what color combination you decide.

At the heart of this magnificent piece is the in-house P.2003/10 movement. This variation to the P.2003 is the first ever skeletonized automatic movement that has been executed by Officine Panerai. Looking beyond the beauty of this amazing movement you will get a fully functional movement with great features and complications such as 10 day power reserve with linear display, date, small seconds, AM/PM indicator, and GMT for a second time zone. Two more intricate details of the movement that help make setting the time as precise as possible is the zeroing for the sub second hand when the crown is pulled out as well as the ability to adjust the hour hand one hour at a time forward or backward without actually stopping the minute hand from running and keeping time.

Looking beyond the amazing technical aspect of the movement we have to bring our focus to the artistic work that has gone into the skeletonizing of this masterful movement. The first thing you are drawn to is the rotor of the automatic movement. It is grooved beautifully and has the inscription “Officine Panerai” on the outer edge of it. This work of art has to not only look good, it has to be fully functional. The etching and engraving had to be done to such precise measurements so that the weight of the actual rotor would not be too light so that it can still wind the springs of the movement. Looking below the rotor, you will be mesmerized by the see through bridges and barrels of the movement, showing off every part of this masterpiece.