2012 Panerai Luminor Marina PAM299 on Bracelet
Ref: PAM299

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original Panerai box and paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original Panerai 24mm bracelet. The watch is from July 2012 and is sold in fantastic condition after being professionally polished, as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.

The Watch

In 1860 Giovanni Panerai opened his watchmaker's shop in Florence, it wasn't only a shop and workshop but also served as the city's first watchmaking school, Officine Panerai's was born. The shop later moved to its current location in the Palazzo Arcivescovile in Piazza San Giovanni, Italy, changing its name to "Orologeria Svizzera" at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In 1916 Stemming from Marie and Pierre Curie’s 1898 discovery, to meet the military needs of the Royal Italian Navy, Officine Panerai created Radiomir, a radium-based powder that gives luminosity to the dials of sighting instruments. Reference to the name "Radiomir" is documented in the patent filed in France on 23 March 1916. The substance's properties are perfect for military applications with high visibility and the paint's excellent underwater adhesive qualities. 

In 1936 Panerai created the first prototypes of the model now known as "Radiomir" for the frogman commandos of the First Submarine Group Command of the Royal Italian Navy. The Navy's historical archives record that just ten prototypes were produced in 1936. It was during this time that a very unusual relationship between Rolex and Panerai was forged with the production of the Ref: 2533. The design comes from a 47mm Rolex Oyster pocket watch. That was turned on its side so that the crown would be now located at 3 o’clock. In 1949 Panerai introduced a new luminescence substance called Luminor that was not only safer than radium-based Radiomir but also much more luminous. In 1955 Panerai launched the Luminor, a watch created for the Royal Italian Navy with its characteristic crown guard designed in the 1950s, invented by brother and sister Giuseppe and Maria Giuseppe Panerai. It wasn’t until 1993 that Panerai finally released the Luminor and Luminor Marina to the public. Today Officine Panerai is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Richemont S.A Group that includes Cartier, IWC, Montblanc, Vacheron Constantin.

Here we have a 2012 Panerai Luminor Marina PAM299 with a 44mm stainless steel cushion case. Expertly polished and brushed surfaces transition with crisp edges. A lug to lug length of 53mm and a thickness of 15mm gives the watch an impressive wrist presence. On the right side is the characteristic crown guard with its release and locking mechanism. A smooth polished bezel holds a sapphire crystal above a black dial. Large Arabic 12 and 6 with batons in between coated in Luminor luminescence. At 3 o’clock a date window with cyclops magnification under the crystal. At 9 o’clock a small seconds register. Broad sword hands are coated in the same Luminor luminescence. Luminor is based on Luminova and has been developed by Panerai since the 1950s. On the reverse, a screw-down case back. Inside an Automatic Panerai OP III, 21 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour. This movement is a stripped-down version of the ETA/Valjoux 7750 P-1 without the chronograph module. The watch comes on its Panerai 24mm brushed and polished stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp and also comes with its Panerai presentation box and papers.

Personal Note