Going gen: 380 or 388???

[snowykim]

With great advice from Ale, I recently acquired KW A7750 Pam 388 and simply love it! I have had several luminor models but this Rad is so elegant. Now I am seriously considering my first gen Pam.
I am torn between 380 and 388 and seeking your opinion.
380 has cleaner dial with op logo on it. 388 has sandwich dial which I prefer and date complication. I found much better deal with 380 but I like automatic movement of 388...
If you choose between these two, which one would you go?

 

[Dochere2]

I personally like the OP logo on the 380. Both are great looking watches. Between the two, I'd save the +/- $2k difference and go with a 380, add a few nice custom straps and spend the rest on a weekend at a spa for all my trouble choosing...

 

[snowykim]

380 has no in-house movement and manual wind. But yes, I can get about 2K cheaper...
Some people say date function in Panerai is big no-no and I guess I understand what it means by going through several Pams with/without date window...
But I still like sandwich dial...

 

[hotwheels]

If it was me, if I was to ever purchase a gen Pam I will always try to purchase one with an in-house movement. Both great looking watches though.

 

[BuddhistGirafe]

Tough, looks alone I would say 380, but whole package would be the 388 if the price doesn't worry you.

 

[Cheesemonger]

Vote here for the 388. That is my favorite PAM.

 

[karesz501]

I'd pick the 388 as it has an in-house movement and an open caseback, which makes it a "super-gen" I'd only get a gen PAM of these ones nowadays and stick to reps for the rest, so buy the 380 as rep, and you won't regret any of these purchases.

 

[Pamtastic]

I was in the same "predicament" recently. Was going back and forth between the 287 and the 388. I could get the 287 for about 1k usd less then the 388, but I preferred the 388. However, in the end, as much as I loved the 388 it bothered me that the rep was as good as it was. I'm guessing that's why I kept low-balling everyone I spoke to on the 388. As much as I loved it, I didn't love it enough to pay the full price for the gen.
fortunately for me, i ended up getting a great deal on a LNIB 514, a watch I TRULY loved. It was a little more then the 388, but despite that I loved it so much I didn't mind the higher price point and I bought it with no hesitation.
honestly, IMO, as much as u may like the 380 and 388, the fact that the reps are so good may very well prevent you from paying the full price of the gen. If u want my opinion, find a watch u TRULY love that is either not repped or not repped well and hunt for a good deal on that. For me, the hunt for my gen makes it that much more special.

 

[Thrasher]

388

 

[kilowattore]

I was in the same "predicament" recently. Was going back and forth between the 287 and the 388. I could get the 287 for about 1k usd less then the 388, but I preferred the 388. However, in the end, as much as I loved the 388 it bothered me that the rep was as good as it was. I'm guessing that's why I kept low-balling everyone I spoke to on the 388. As much as I loved it, I didn't love it enough to pay the full price for the gen.
fortunately for me, i ended up getting a great deal on a LNIB 514, a watch I TRULY loved. It was a little more then the 388, but despite that I loved it so much I didn't mind the higher price point and I bought it with no hesitation.
honestly, IMO, as much as u may like the 380 and 388, the fact that the reps are so good may very well prevent you from paying the full price of the gen. If u want my opinion, find a watch u TRULY love that is either not repped or not repped well and hunt for a good deal on that. For me, the hunt for my gen makes it that much more special.

I agree with vbmrk, and if you really want a gen between those two I would go for the 388 just because of the inhouse movement.

 

[karesz501]

The 388 is a VERY nice rep, BUT far from the GEN. MILES AWAY.... Just my opinion....

 

[slaughterer62]

I have the gen 380. I love it.

 

[Pamtastic]

The 388 is a VERY nice rep, BUT far from the GEN. MILES AWAY.... Just my opinion....

100% agreed, mate. My point was that I had trouble paying the gen price for the 388 when the rep was so good. Tough to explain, but I kept low-balling a few sellers of the 388 because I think I didn't mind owning the gen if I got a great deal on it. Of course, no one accepted my low offers.
But one thing always holds true: gen is gen, no matter how good the rep.

 

[ddaddy1982]

And I have the gen 388. I love it every day!

 

[snowykim]

100% agreed, mate. My point was that I had trouble paying the gen price for the 388 when the rep was so good. Tough to explain, but I kept low-balling a few sellers of the 388 because I think I didn't mind owning the gen if I got a great deal on it. Of course, no one accepted my low offers.
But one thing always holds true: gen is gen, no matter how good the rep.

Thanks for your courage to speek up. I appreciate it and thanks for all comments.
I decided going on gen which is not easy to replicate and I really like at the same time. So my next order will be rep 380 and my first gen which might be 233. But the problem is I still have not found a Pam which pleases me 100%. 233 is good example. I like its dome shaped crystal with GMT and date complications. But it is 12 hour gmt which does not makes any sense to me other than that you can hide gmt hour hand. So we have somewhat ugly dot showing AM/PM and newer version with crowded second hand area...
Rolex does not change its model like Pam but it has classical beauty. On the other hand, Pam is unpredictable bouncing ball and you never know which model pops up next year... Yes, I am addicted to Pam but it is insane...

 

[d4m.test]

Unless I already have 3 other gen PAMs, for spending the money on a PAM it must have a.) a cg-lever b.) sandwich dial c.) not must, but ideally a see-through caseback;
So, however beautiful all of them are, from the mentioned choices it would be the 233.

 

[snowykim]

Unless I already have 3 other gen PAMs, for spending the money on a PAM it must have a.) a cg-lever b.) sandwich dial c.) not must, but ideally a see-through caseback;
So, however beautiful all of them are, from the mentioned choices it would be the 233.

I tend to agree with you. But it is 10x hard to choose a particular gen model compared to other brands...

 

[varsitymisc]

388 no question. The sandwich dial is much more nuanced and distinctive than the sausage - which is for all intents & purposes a flat dial with big numbers. The sandwich is a Panerai.

Short answer: 388.

Slightly longer answer: Panerai reps are some of the most accurate reps in the market. Rolexes get far more scrutinty, and have more tells because of their elaborate dials. I had a gen 388, just bought a rep the other day. They're almost identical, save for the movement. Only I will ever see the mvmt, and since I know it's a rep, I don't care if it's inaccurate when everything else is next to perfect.

Don't buy a gen Panerai, buy a gen version of something that's never going to get (well) repped.


Just my opinion, of course

 

[Norrie]

388 for sure.

 

[slaughterer62]

Ok, 380 is the cheepest Panerai in gen world. I still love it.