Hot Take: Is Everything Right With The Panerai Luminor Destro Otto Giorni PAM01655?
Panerai recently released the Luminor Destro Otto Giorni PAM01655. What’s in a name? Well, the fact that it is a Luminor with an eight-day power reserve that is supposed to be worn on your right (destro, in Italian) arm. That pretty much sums up what this new Luminor is all about.
So, is everything right about this new destro PAM, or should you walk right by? Let’s have a quick first look!
Luminor Destro Otto Giorni PAM01655
If you own a Panerai Luminor Otto Giorni PAM00915, you can press its crown guard against a mirror to see the new PAM01655. Well, technically, you will see a PAM01655 with unreadable reversed dial printing, but it’s close enough. What I’m trying to say is that these are identical watches apart from the destro layout.
That means you get a fully polished 44mm Luminor case housing a hand-wound P.5000 caliber. You get a black pencil handset, a sub-seconds register, and a sandwich dial with beige lume on the lower level. Of course, if you rotate the movement 180 degrees, the sub-dial switches sides from 9 to 3 o’clock too.
Panerai makes two more aesthetic changes to the PAM00915 to arrive at the PAM01655. For starters, the new destro comes with a sapphire-equipped display case back. Second, the black leather strap makes way for a sand-colored alternative, matching the lume. The strap is scamosciato, which is Italiano for “suede” for all you English-speaking folk.
Initial impressions are positive
My first reaction upon opening the press pack was a sigh of relief. If you follow my writing, you might know I love Panerai for its core designs. However, I am not a big fan of the myriad collaborations and complicated versions. There’s just too much fanfare for my liking. I prefer a beautiful old olive tree over a beautiful old olive tree with Christmas lights. I like Panerai watches best when they are simple, putting the beautiful Radiomir and Luminor shapes front and center. Luckily, that is exactly what Panerai did here.
In my opinion, Panerai is among a minuscule selection of watches that look good with faux patina. It adds warmth and character, especially when paired with a similarly colored strap. I also like that this is a “proper” Panerai, with a screw-in case back and a 300m depth rating.
Of course, this watch is all about the destro layout. Panerai first made a destro model in the ’60s with reference 6152/1. This watch was intended for military use, allowing frogmen to wear navigation instruments on their left wrists by moving the watch to the right. In a world rife with concocted historical justification, this is a genuinely interesting oddity.
A word on the PAM01655’s price
The new PAM01655 costs €8,200. Let’s put that into perspective with two other iconic sub-€10K watches. This is €500 more than an Omega Speedmaster Professional and only €1,300 less than a no-date Rolex Submariner. Comparing watches is hard, but the Sub and the Speedy are arguably more iconic and certainly technically much more intricate and special.
I don’t often draw such comparisons for several reasons. For starters, luxury watch prices often aren’t based on fabrication costs. These are veblen goods, and you pay for an experience more than anything else. Also, comparing watches is nearly impossible. The tiniest details can be extremely costly, making a seemingly simpler watch genuinely dearer than a more impressive alternative. Still, I don’t quite see such details in modern Panerai. I get the impression that they are simply very expensive because they can be.
That said, I do like the new Panerai Luminor Destro Otto Giorni PAM01655. It looks great, and its backstory makes it equally suited to left-handed and right-handed watch enthusiasts. If the price were a little more palatable, I would suggest double-wristing with a Radiomir on your left and a Luminor Destro on your right!
What do you think of the new Panerai Luminor Destro Otto Giorni PAM01655? Let us know in the comments below!
