Panerai Radiomir
Black Seal
PAM 183 / PAM190 "8 Days"
 Panerai
Radiomir Black Seal PAM183 and its cousin, PAM190 "8 Days" is one of the most elegant watch ever produced.
With an understated clean black dial, the design is reminiscent of Panerai
typical face, but without the crown-guard (a Panerai trademark design,
though, which is normally considered a bit too rugged as a dress watch).
PAM183 clean design black dial makes reading very easy, looks extremely
elegant yet understated and classic.
Panerai Radiomir watches have a rich
and colorful history. Panerai entered permanent and effective service in
the Royal Italian Navy in 1938; they also entered the pages of history
as participants in some legendary exploits.
The qualities demanded of the Panerai
Radiomir were robustness, water-resistance and the highest legibility under
all conditions of use. In 1938 Panerai presented a prototype with a cushion-shaped
case of generous size (47 mm in diameter), with wire loop lugs soldered
to the case-band (the central section of the case), a screw-down case back
and a winding crown sealed in the same way. The hand-wound movement was
16 lignes (equivalent to a little over 36 mm), a diameter typical of calibres
produced for pocket-watches.
The movement, back and crown were
marked Rolex, confirming the established cooperation which Panerai had
with the Geneva-based brand. Other notable details were the crystal made
of Perspex, a highly transparent material with excellent resistance to
atmospheric agents and acids, a dial with hour markers, Arabic numerals
and Roman figures coated with luminous material, and finally, the strap,
a belt-like leather strap capable of resisting water, and long enough for
the timepiece to be strapped on directly over the wet suit of the commandos.
From the prototype, the watch moved
to small series production for which some significant modifications were
carried out to some elements of the case and, in particular, the dial.
The report from the units that had experimented with examples during the
prototype stage, indicated that the difficulty of reading the time was
one of the most critical aspects of the watch. The new version used a ‘sandwich
construction’ dial, consisting of an upper disc in black with perforated
hour markers and Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, and a lower
disc, with figures in relief, covered with a layer of a highly luminous
radioactive substance that resulted in a high degree of luminosity. This
feature of the watch was emphasized by the name adopted, Radiomir, which
was inspired by the luminous paint devised by Panerai’s researchers, which
consisted of zinc sulphide, radium bromide (from which the word Radiomir
derives) and mesothorium.
In 2004, Panerai released Radiomir
Black Seal PAM183 to commemorate the legendary watch that was used by the
Italian Navy 70 years ago. |
