Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days automatic - PAM 312 KW
Model: PAM 312
Maker: KW
Movement: a7750 28,800 vph decorated to look like P.9000
Dealer: Hont
As soon as I saw the new v2 with Seagull movement become available with the subsequent price reduction, I decided I had to have one. I missed a 44 mm 1950 case in my collection, and this is one of the most recommended reps, so the curiosity was great.
Moreover set2374 posted this nice review of his own 312 here, motivating me even more to try it.
I can only thank you guys for advising this acquisition, it's an amazing watch indeed!
Needless to say but, even with some unavoidable flaws that come with any rep, the most part of the inaccuracies are almost unnoticeable in real life and detract nothing from a very well executed rep.
THE GEN (312 Q series)
The 312 is part of the contemporary collection, and sports a 1950 brushed case with polished bezel.
Dial is black with silver hands and features a seconds subdial @ 9 and date @ 3.
Movement is the automatic in house caliber P.9000, same as used in PAM 382 and many others.
The P.9000 beats at 28,800 vph and has a quick hour set function, meaning that you can move the hour hand without moving the minutes hand, nice novelty and exclusive of the gen because no rep movement is capable of such complication afaik.
One little thing I noticed during my research for this review is that the first series (L series I think was the first) featured a fully polished caseback, while the current series (Q is the latest I found) has brushed caseback with polished sides.
As well as the rep, the gen is reported to be thicker than other PAMs due to the automatic movement.
THE REP
At first glance I noticed the nice effect given by the contrast of brushed case, polished bezel and matte dial. It recalls the design of PAM 127, of course in smaller size and without the distinctive domed sapphire.
The watch feels and wears noticeably bigger than Luminors of the same size like the 390 or the 563, mostly due to its thickness. CG feels a bit bigger too.
CASE
PAM312 features a 44 mm 1950 case set with brushed mid case, polished bezel and brushed display caseback.
The quality of the build is exceptional and the feeling is completely satisfactory.
The highly polished bezel contrasts nicely with the case. Just like inPAM 127 the bezel is raised from the case, not flush like in Luminor cases. Well, a pic might explain it better
As far as I can tell the case shape is almost perfect, lines are sharp and curves appear correct to me. Lugs are quite close to gen as well and join the case clean and straight. Lug holes placement looks ok, maybe a hair too close to the upper edge, but it's a matter of microns
Here's a detail of the zone of the lugs, notice the brushing and the beautiful shapes
CROWNGUARD
CG in PAM 312 is 1950 style, with "REG. TM." engravings on the front side.
In the inner upper part of the CG you can notice a zone where the meta lhas not been perfectly filed, I think this is a "defect"(if I can call it so) of my watch only, and luckily it's invisible in real life.
CG pin is ever so slightly raised, but in some gen pics I saw it looks to be a little recessed.
REG. TM. engravings are deep and defined, fonts are correct as far as I can tell, but are placed a little too much on the outside.
CG edges are slightly rounded and polished, maybe a tiny bit more than gen. While thisfeature is only noticeable in macro pics, it will give the CG a well defined look and make it more comfortable to wear because it won't “scratch” your wrists. This is one of those micro details that only the best rep feature, and are the things that give a rep that famous "gen-like" feel IMHO.
GEN CG:
REP CG:
The lever shape is good, but the tip is a bit too far from the case, again just a hair, but it's perfectly flush with CG body when it's closed. Closing does not have the right feel, though. It simply does not snap as tight as I would like.
Crown looks very good, with polished and nicely machined teeth.
DIAL
The black sandwich dial has modern lume, seconds at 9 and date at 3. Indices and numbers are sharply cut, date window also. Date is centered and changes gradually starting around 10 PM.
Printing is crisp but could be slightly more raised and glossy, something I noticed in my 382 as well.
Regarding the LUMINOR MARINA and PANERAI inscriptions, I can confirm they are a dark yellow/orange/brown color, while gen has a more subtle cream/beige tone.
HANDS
Hands are silver, well finished and polished. Hands lume is slightly more white than lume on the indices.
CP is polished and almost flat, ever so slightly recessed, one of the best in my collection anyway
LUME
Lume is quite strong and long lasting for rep lume.
CRYSTAL
Crystal is slightly curved, height and shape look fine to me. AR is good and almost colorless, even if in particular light conditions a shade of purple appeared. All in all very good imho.
CASEBACK
GEN:
REP:
The display caseback is brushed with polished sides, as per latest gen series.
Again the brushing is top notch, as well as the engravings, which are deep and crisp.
The movement is an a7750 decorated to look like the P.9000 inhouse Panerai movement.
The rotor and the plates covering the movement are very well machined and look very good. The blue colored text is deeply engraved, even deeper than gen, fonts look correct.
P.9000 inscription is inverted compared to gen but reads in the right direction as per KW choice (ZF P.9000 has same text direction as gen, but due to its position it reads inverted) .
Upon close inspection, some defects in machining near the screws and around the faux escapement wheel can be observed.
The balance wheel at 11 is an instant tell on this movement, it is placed at 7 in gen. The new Seagull movements used in KW 312 v2 instead features a balance wheel at 6 which can be considered a slight improvement, yet it is still wrong.
I suspect that seagull versions might be thinner than corresponding a7750 versions, but I have no way to confirm it atm and I could very well be wrong.
Very nice looking movement nonetheless
BUCKLE
Buckle is standard screw in, good quality brushing and crisp PANERAI engraving. The space for the tongue is slightly bigger than the tongue itself, as I recall gen buckles are obviously perfect
Panerai code is etched on the back side, but tbh I don't know if it is the correct one.
CONCLUSIONS
The looks and feel of this watch are really hard to match, the only thing I can advise to consider before buying it is its size: even though it's the same size as a modern Luminor, the thickest case makes it wear quite bigger on the wrist.
Color of inscriptions on dial and rep movement are the biggest tells, but they are pretty minor to me and totally acceptable, almost impossible to spot without owning the gen side to side or in presence of an expert of the brand imho.
Another great PAM added to my collection, it has grown bigger in the last few months and yet I can't stop being amazed how nice and well made they are. Now onto the search for the next one!artybanana:
Additional pics
As usual I hope you found this helpful and enjoyed the pics, let me know what you think of this great rep and don't hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm always happy to update the review
:cheers:
Model: PAM 312
Maker: KW
Movement: a7750 28,800 vph decorated to look like P.9000
Dealer: Hont
As soon as I saw the new v2 with Seagull movement become available with the subsequent price reduction, I decided I had to have one. I missed a 44 mm 1950 case in my collection, and this is one of the most recommended reps, so the curiosity was great.
Moreover set2374 posted this nice review of his own 312 here, motivating me even more to try it.
I can only thank you guys for advising this acquisition, it's an amazing watch indeed!
Needless to say but, even with some unavoidable flaws that come with any rep, the most part of the inaccuracies are almost unnoticeable in real life and detract nothing from a very well executed rep.
THE GEN (312 Q series)
The 312 is part of the contemporary collection, and sports a 1950 brushed case with polished bezel.
Dial is black with silver hands and features a seconds subdial @ 9 and date @ 3.
Movement is the automatic in house caliber P.9000, same as used in PAM 382 and many others.
The P.9000 beats at 28,800 vph and has a quick hour set function, meaning that you can move the hour hand without moving the minutes hand, nice novelty and exclusive of the gen because no rep movement is capable of such complication afaik.
One little thing I noticed during my research for this review is that the first series (L series I think was the first) featured a fully polished caseback, while the current series (Q is the latest I found) has brushed caseback with polished sides.
As well as the rep, the gen is reported to be thicker than other PAMs due to the automatic movement.
THE REP
At first glance I noticed the nice effect given by the contrast of brushed case, polished bezel and matte dial. It recalls the design of PAM 127, of course in smaller size and without the distinctive domed sapphire.
The watch feels and wears noticeably bigger than Luminors of the same size like the 390 or the 563, mostly due to its thickness. CG feels a bit bigger too.
CASE
PAM312 features a 44 mm 1950 case set with brushed mid case, polished bezel and brushed display caseback.
The quality of the build is exceptional and the feeling is completely satisfactory.
The highly polished bezel contrasts nicely with the case. Just like inPAM 127 the bezel is raised from the case, not flush like in Luminor cases. Well, a pic might explain it better
As far as I can tell the case shape is almost perfect, lines are sharp and curves appear correct to me. Lugs are quite close to gen as well and join the case clean and straight. Lug holes placement looks ok, maybe a hair too close to the upper edge, but it's a matter of microns
Here's a detail of the zone of the lugs, notice the brushing and the beautiful shapes
CROWNGUARD
CG in PAM 312 is 1950 style, with "REG. TM." engravings on the front side.
In the inner upper part of the CG you can notice a zone where the meta lhas not been perfectly filed, I think this is a "defect"(if I can call it so) of my watch only, and luckily it's invisible in real life.
CG pin is ever so slightly raised, but in some gen pics I saw it looks to be a little recessed.
REG. TM. engravings are deep and defined, fonts are correct as far as I can tell, but are placed a little too much on the outside.
CG edges are slightly rounded and polished, maybe a tiny bit more than gen. While thisfeature is only noticeable in macro pics, it will give the CG a well defined look and make it more comfortable to wear because it won't “scratch” your wrists. This is one of those micro details that only the best rep feature, and are the things that give a rep that famous "gen-like" feel IMHO.
GEN CG:
REP CG:
The lever shape is good, but the tip is a bit too far from the case, again just a hair, but it's perfectly flush with CG body when it's closed. Closing does not have the right feel, though. It simply does not snap as tight as I would like.
Crown looks very good, with polished and nicely machined teeth.
DIAL
The black sandwich dial has modern lume, seconds at 9 and date at 3. Indices and numbers are sharply cut, date window also. Date is centered and changes gradually starting around 10 PM.
Printing is crisp but could be slightly more raised and glossy, something I noticed in my 382 as well.
Regarding the LUMINOR MARINA and PANERAI inscriptions, I can confirm they are a dark yellow/orange/brown color, while gen has a more subtle cream/beige tone.
HANDS
Hands are silver, well finished and polished. Hands lume is slightly more white than lume on the indices.
CP is polished and almost flat, ever so slightly recessed, one of the best in my collection anyway
LUME
Lume is quite strong and long lasting for rep lume.
CRYSTAL
Crystal is slightly curved, height and shape look fine to me. AR is good and almost colorless, even if in particular light conditions a shade of purple appeared. All in all very good imho.
CASEBACK
GEN:
REP:
The display caseback is brushed with polished sides, as per latest gen series.
Again the brushing is top notch, as well as the engravings, which are deep and crisp.
The movement is an a7750 decorated to look like the P.9000 inhouse Panerai movement.
The rotor and the plates covering the movement are very well machined and look very good. The blue colored text is deeply engraved, even deeper than gen, fonts look correct.
P.9000 inscription is inverted compared to gen but reads in the right direction as per KW choice (ZF P.9000 has same text direction as gen, but due to its position it reads inverted) .
Upon close inspection, some defects in machining near the screws and around the faux escapement wheel can be observed.
The balance wheel at 11 is an instant tell on this movement, it is placed at 7 in gen. The new Seagull movements used in KW 312 v2 instead features a balance wheel at 6 which can be considered a slight improvement, yet it is still wrong.
I suspect that seagull versions might be thinner than corresponding a7750 versions, but I have no way to confirm it atm and I could very well be wrong.
Very nice looking movement nonetheless
BUCKLE
Buckle is standard screw in, good quality brushing and crisp PANERAI engraving. The space for the tongue is slightly bigger than the tongue itself, as I recall gen buckles are obviously perfect
Panerai code is etched on the back side, but tbh I don't know if it is the correct one.
CONCLUSIONS
The looks and feel of this watch are really hard to match, the only thing I can advise to consider before buying it is its size: even though it's the same size as a modern Luminor, the thickest case makes it wear quite bigger on the wrist.
Color of inscriptions on dial and rep movement are the biggest tells, but they are pretty minor to me and totally acceptable, almost impossible to spot without owning the gen side to side or in presence of an expert of the brand imho.
Another great PAM added to my collection, it has grown bigger in the last few months and yet I can't stop being amazed how nice and well made they are. Now onto the search for the next one!
artybanana:Additional pics
As usual I hope you found this helpful and enjoyed the pics, let me know what you think of this great rep and don't hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm always happy to update the review
:cheers:
