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 1359, which replaces the Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic PAM 359. Just like the PAM 1312 we reviewed here, the PAM 1359 features the same thinner case that is now part of the new Panerai Luminor Marina collection equipped with the new calibre P.9010.

The Case

While in reality the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1359 comes with the same 44 mm diameter case as it predecessor the PAM 359, 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. The biggest difference without a doubt, is that the lugs are now considerably thinner on the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1359 than they were on its predecessor.

The Dial

The new Officine Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1359 sports a black sandwich dial with 'ecru' superluminova, blue running seconds hand and with the writing 'Automatic' right under Panerai. The dial on the new Panerai PAM 1359, has the exact same layout and construction as the dial on its predecessor the PAM 359 with a date aperture at 3 o'clock but this time with the font in 'ecru'. In our opinion, just like on the PAM 1312, the new dial is way more appealing thanks to the 'ecru' luminova and the blue seconds hand.

The Movement

Powering the new Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days PAM 1359 is the new in-house calibre P.9010. This new automatic movement, was fully designed and developed by Panerai in Neuchatel. The 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 good wrist presence, personally we are not big fans of this type of dial as we like the traditional 12-3-6-9 or 12-9-6 configuration of Panerai dials. When perusing the PAM 359 next to the new PAM 1359, we are confident that the natural choice of any Paneristi, would be to go with the PAM 359 due to its beefier case construction; however, the look of the new dial on the Panerai PAM 1359 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.