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Panerai History and Pam 390 Review In the 1860s, Guido Panerai set up a workshop in Florence, Italy making precision mechanical instruments. The workshops carried on into the 20th century as "Officine Panerai”. By the 1930s the workshops were making a range of wrist-worn instruments for frogmen, compasses, depth gauges and the like. In 1935 Officine Panerai were commissioned by the Italian Navy to construct watches for use underwater; specifically ones that could be read underwater. After some initial prototypes Officine Panerai delivered its first product diving watches in 1938. The prototypes were fitted with Rolex movements and Rolex crowns and case backs. Officine Panerai progressively improved its designs with increased luminosity of numerals, hands and the now famous crown-locking device. Later models were fitted with an Angelus 8 day (marked "8 giorno") movement. The radioactive radium which gave such legibility to the Radiomir models was replaced with the distinctly less toxic compound "Luminor". Things get a bit hazy here, but as far as I can see the equipment-manufacturing end of Officine Panerai drifted out of business after World War II ended. In 1993, Officine Panerai started to reproduce the Luminor and the Mare Nostrum chronograph, basically targeted at the collector's market. These were produced in very limited numbers. In 1997 Officine Panerai was acquired by the Vendôme group. Under the new management the same models were produced, still in small numbers. However in a clever marketing move, a few "unique editions" were produced each year with an intriguing movement or case design. This brings us to the present day. There seems to be no great rush to produce Officine Panerai watches in huge numbers. Collectors are snapping up vintage models and "pre - Vendôme". Panerai has just launched their most exciting range of production watches and unique editions yet. It will be intriguing to see what happens in the next few years, but with a steady hand on the helm, Panerai might well become one of the most collectable brands around whilst still not being seen on every street corner. Panerai PAM 390 What we know so far about the PAM 390 is a Special Edition of 2000 pieces. This comes in a special edition presentation box (larger than the standard issue) together with the famous "Scroll" that accompanies all Panerai Special Editions. They will be only available through boutiques worldwide. As we have seen there are many owners who have been kind enough to share their new acquisition with us. This watch was little known around the Panerai community and as with many of these micro edition sprung out of nowhere to "now here" (the love guru) and blindsided most. However, as many have also noticed there where catalog pictures last year but no mention until they hit the streets. Mr. Bonati played this one very close to the vest and was able to keep the surprise and the lid on this release as the Internet buzz has once again beaten the street with AD's scrambling to find out about this beauty. This is a keeper and is sure to find its place with collectors that like the PAM 249 and many more. The Panerai 390 is a real beauty with the famous "chocolate" dial and aged patina application for the numeral and index application. The watch sports the classic OP1 movement with a highly polished case reminiscent of the PAM 000. In fact, it is very similar except for that gorgeous brown dial and aged patina that gives a more historic feel to it. And yes, gold hands that pop unlike the subdued hands of the PAM 000 which almost blend into the background. OK I won't bore you with any more fluff and take you to the pictures. On a side note, the brown dial is almost impossible to represent in photos without using artistic licensed Photoshop and the pictures here are sans Photoshop, but with the reference of a black dial and a brown 232 you can get a feel for the color. Below are some pics of the Gen 390 (borrowed from a couple of Paneristi reviews). There will be some more comparative pics to come at the end of this review. Also below is a pic of the Pam 000, 390 and the 232. Very similar in my opinion except for the brown Tobacco Dial on the Pam 390. It is stupendous! As noted, these pics have been borrowed from Paneristi. Our photos will follow shortly at the end of the review! The 390 that we are reviewing was purchased form my favorite dealer Andrew, at trustytime.com. I have always found Andrew to be the most knowledgeable and comfortable to deal with. He is always honest and upfront, and handles problems immediately without trying to confuse the buyer like many other dealers do. I have been dealing with Andrew for about 8 years and personally I would not trade dealers ever. Lets take a look and talk about the Pam 390 H Factory Rep. I have one in my hand as I am writing this review. I normally in the past have not liked brown Pam watches. The 390 dial is a gorgeous Tobacco Brown which pops with the antique lume and subdued gold hands. The crown guard is excellent in construction and the fit to the case is extremely well done. The crown guard lever is a little loose, except it snaps closed with a very positive action. Clean and smooth. This is probably one of the best Pam reps I honestly have ever seen. The rep looks Gen!! The fit and finish of this could not be better. All case edges are very clean and smooth. The crystal of course is Sapphire with colorless AR as per the gen. I happened to take a stroll to Rolex in Beverly Hills Ca. The store was out of stock except a visiting customer was wearing one. Looking at the gen and looking at my rep when I came home was scary. I feel this will be one of the super reps of the year. The 390 case back has extremely crisp writing. It has the "pig" or Torpedo Logo engraved on the back case. This a Boutique Watch with 2000 pcs. made in Sept 2011. When the watch first arrived, it sold for about $4500. Right now they are going for $8000 to $9000, and according to Panerai, they are very hard to get. This is one model that is not dropping in price in this poor economy, like other modes have. The watch is lumed with a Patina Superluminova. The watch has correct vintage style gold hands. MOVEMENT: Asian 6497 Manual Handwind Movement, Cortes de Geneve Decoration on Bridges, Correct Shape Dagger Swan Neck Regulator, Highbeat 21600bph. This is one watch which should be in everybody's watch box. You will not regret it. Here is where I purchased my Pam 390: http://yourtrustytime.com/ written by mikellem photos - shot by our famous redwatch asst - asimplefarmer Replica and Genuine photo comparisons to follow. I want to thank Andrew at www.Trustywatchguy.com, for getting this watch to me right before the Chinese New Year. When Andrew promises you something, you can guarantee what he says is going to happen! And that's a fact. Thanks Andrew. I also want to thank redwatch for using an incredible professional photo set and his asst. (another RWG member) asimplefarmer And now on to the pics: Here are some side by side comparison shots: