Just a month ago, we brought you the news on twelve new Panerai timepieces being unveiled in Florence, Italy as part of the Panerai Exhibition 'Panerai Dive Into Time' right here . Today, we bring you our hands-on review of the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1312, which replaces the Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic PAM 312. A considerable reduction in the thickness and weight of the case is a feature of the new Luminor Marina collection and we've finally been able to peruse some of the new watches to bring you our impressions on them.

The Case

While in reality the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1312 comes with the same 44 mm diameter case as it predecessor the PAM 312, at least optically, the watch seems to look slightly smaller due to its thinner case. While the reduction on the case thickness is only around 2.5 mm, the difference is quite visible when you put both watches side-by-side —on the picture below, you will find the new Panerai PAM 1312 on the foreground and on the second picture, on the left hand side. Perhaps the biggest difference, is that the lugs are now considerably thinner on the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1312.

Of course as a result of the thinner case body, the crown protector is now also thinner on the PAM 1312 when compared to the PAM 312. By the way, while working on this review we were also able to look at the new PAM 1392 and with its 42 mm case and thinner profile, the watch is perfectly suited for ladies.

The Dial

The new Officine Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1312 sports a black sandwich dial with 'ecru' superluminova, blue running seconds hand and with the writing 'Automatic' right under Panerai. The watch features a date aperture at 3 o'clock. In our opinion, the new dial on the new PAM 1312 is way more appealing thanks to the 'ecru' luminova and the blue seconds hand. While in the pictures the seconds hand seems to pop a lot against the black dial, in person this touch is so subtle and well executed that by no means the blue hand is 'in your face'.

The Movement

Powering the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1312 is the calibre P.9010. This new automatic movement, was fully designed and developed by Panerai in Neuchatel. Calibre P.9010 is as wide as its predecessor the calibre P.9000 —13¾ lignes— but relatively thinner. The new calibre P.9010 measures 6.0 mm in thickness instead of 7.9 mm and is composed of 200 parts instead of 197 —three additional jewels were added to the P.9010 with a total of 31 jewels. This automatic movement beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph to provide a power reserve of three days. No visible difference is present between this new calibre and its predecessor when looking at it via the display case back.

On the Wrist & Pricing

On the wrist, the watch seems to wear slightly smaller than its actual size, but with an overall great appearance thanks to the new dial with 'ecru' luminova and blue seconds hand. When perusing the PAM 312 next to the new PAM 1312, we are confident that the natural choice of any Paneristi, would be to go with the PAM 312 due to its beefier case construction; however, the look of the new dial on the Panerai PAM 1312 along with the 'ecru' contrast stitching on its black strap might make most watchlifestylers simply lean in the direction of the new model. At the end of the day, the choice is yours, but all we can add up is that this new timepiece is mighty nice.

We would like to thank our friends at the Panerai Boutique North Park in Dallas, Texas for letting us come in and work on this hands-on review.

Sticker Price $7,500 USD. For more info on Officine Panerai click here.