Officine Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Militare P2002 47mm PAM 00339

Special Editions. All Panerai's are of limited production. Only a few thousand of each model are produced a year. A trip to the local AD will give you only a few options of what is available in Officine Panerai's extensive catalog of watches. Getting the Panerai of your choice normally means a fair bit of waiting.

But there are even a more exclusive Panerai's, watches whose production is limited to 1000 units or less in the entire production life of the model. Some of these watches have even produced in quantities of just 20 units. These ultra-exclusive Panerai 's are the Panerai Special Edition watches, and every year Panerai releases a few.

Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Militare P2002 47mm PAM00339. The PAM 339 has a 47mm Radiomir case. What makes this watch interesting is the material used for the case. To build the case, Panerai used a composite material which is the result of an electrochemical process of ceramization of aluminium. The ceramization process of aluminium is not the usual process used in the watch industry. In traditional process layers of ceramic particles are applied onto metal. In the Panerai process, aluminum cases are immersed in a chemical bath where it undergoes the process of "ceramization." Research into this process does yield a simple explanation as to how it is done.

But for most, the process matters less than the result. The resulting material is light, but harder than metals like steel and titanium. It is also more durable than traditional ceramic watches. The resulting finish is extremely durable dark matte brown finish. The case is water resistant to 100 meters.

8 GIORNO BREVETTATO. To complement the innovative case, Panerai decided to us its Hand-wound mechanical Panerai P.2002/7 calibre movement. This movement has a long eight day power reserve.

Marina Militare. The watch pays homage to its history with the Italian Navy with the words "Marina Militare" on the dial. The matte dark brown finish of the case, is coupled with a brown pancake dial and a worn looking brown leather stap, give the watch the look of a vintage watch. Owning this piece will cost you US$15,000, and production is limited to 1000 pieces.

About Panerai. Officine Panerai was founded in 1860 in Florence, Italy by Giovani Panerai. Panerai was acquired over by Swiss watchmaker Richemont S. A. in 1997.