SIHH 2011: Panerai Luminor Composite PAM 386 Caliber 9.000

44mm brown composite case, brown dial with Arabic numerals and luminous hour markers. Date at 3 o'clock, small seconds at 9 o'clock, 300 meter water resistance, comes with an aged leather strap with matching large composite buckle (comes with 2 straps).

Close up of the PAM 386 dial

Versus the PAM 339, I think this new PAM 386 is more practical and has more mainstream appeal because of its size (44mm vs. PAM 339 47mm), case shape (Luminor (w/crown guard) vs. PAM 339 Radiomir-style case), and the movement (automatic Panerai caliber P.9000 vs. PAM 339 manual wind 8-day P.2002) — and it also has a date window vs. the PAM 339's "8-days" graphic at the 3 o'clock position.  Also, because of the automatic movement instead of the 8-day manual wind, the watch will probably be a fair amount less expensive.

Bottom line — damn does this watch look awesome, and props to Panerai for seizing upon a winner in the PAM 339 composite and advancing the theme in 2011!  Although it will be awhile before we see this watch in the marketplace, it is worth the wait, IMHO.  Look for price to push close to $10,000.

Movement is the automatic mechanical Panerai P.9000 caliber

Close up of the PAM 386 caseback

Looks like it will be a limited edition of 1000 pieces / year.

Panerai Composite

Composite originally is Aluminum, Composite is obtained through an electrochemical process of ceramization of aluminium. Not only Composite is harder than Titanium and stainless steel, but it is also much lighter. Another advantage of Composite is that it can synthesize a variety of different colors.