ReviewA Rare Panerai brought back to life – The New Panerai Radiomir California

Vintage Panerai watches always have an interesting story and the watch in question today is going to take you straight back to their first ever watch. The Radomir – considered to be one of horology’s most iconic time pieces. The Radiomir, even in the 30s was much ahead of its time and defined the way diver’s watches were going to be in the future. An extremely resistant and reliable watch which was akin to the demanding conditions the Royal Italian Navy commandos survived in.

Panerai has taken a bold step towards recreating the first Radiomir, exactly how it was back in 1936. Let’s go straight into the new PAM 424 and see if they’ve done justice to its forefather:

The California Dial: Decoded

Though the dial itself is a mystery unsolved, it makes the watch automatically rare, considering only a few modern Panerai watches have ever had a California dial. But what exactly is the dial all about?

You might have read a number of stories about the “California Dial” and where it originated, depending on who you ask and what you’re searching for on the internet. I humbly admit not knowing the absolute truth either, but they’re mostly dials that have half-Roman, half Arabic numerals and no brand logos, again extremely rare today. You could even call it a unique ‘feature’ that is immediately identifiable among watches in the market today.

A California dial thus refers to a watch dial that consists of:

• Four Roman numerals between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock
• Four Arabic numerals between 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock
• An inverted triangle at 12 o’clock
• A dash at 6 o’clock
• Luminescent hands and dial markers and
• A black dial, usually without a logo

The California dial, which mixes both Roman and Arabic numbers, was actually first introduced by Rolex when they made watches for Panerai. This is way back in the 30s when Panerai watches weren’t even available for the common man, and were made exclusively for the Royal Italian Navy – made to be extremely resistant and reliable. The black dial with luminous Arabic and Roman numerals, and hour markers made the watch legible even in poorest light conditions while diving.

A Classic comes back to life:

The PAM424 strikes a perfect balance between the modern Radiomir and its forefather from the 30s. The case is the same, generously sized at 47mm and is perhaps not for one with thin wrists. But Panerai has gone lengths to make the watch as close to the original as possible, with the same train track seconds ring, and 18 k gold hands. In my humble opinion, the California dial alone is an example of vintage horology at its finest.

Additionally, the total absence of ‘Panerai’ or the name of the watch on the face is absolutely welcome! Considering the classic California Dial was never overwhelming. It does, however, have the ‘OP’ (Officine Panerai) logo which appeared almost 50 years later on the Radiomir. This is a watch to be worn and admired not just by the Panerai devotee, but the watch collector as well.

The Strap:

Keeping up with the vintage theme, the Radiomir California comes with an extremely comfortable, hand stitched brown calf leather strap, which is fitted to a patented 316L Polished Steel removable wire loop (or lugs if you want to call them that). The Wire loop was also there in the 1936 prototype.

A Superior Mechanical Movement:

At its heart beats Panerai’s in-house P.3000 manual winding movement. Created entirely at the Panerai Manufacture, and immediately recognisable from the see-through sapphire crystal case back. The movement has 21 jewels and is a powerhouse, having two spring barrels, thus giving it a healthy power reserve of 3 days when fully wound. The P.3000 is also one of the most accurate movements around, having a frequency of 3 Hz, equivalent to 21,600 vibrations per hour.

Final Thoughts:

With the Radiomir California PAM 424, Panerai offers us a watch that is clearly intended for the Panerai devotee and the watch aficionado. It successfully blends different elements of the modern Panerai with its historical past. The result is a very original watch, which is pleasant to wear, and has a strong personality.

In short, an excellent tribute to one of the icons of the watch world and one to treasure in your watch collection.

The Radiomir is available in India at Ethos Watch Boutiques.