Let me kick this off by saying that I am not the biggest Panerai nut in the world. I find myself liking them on other people but with no strong desire to own one myself. That was until the Carbotech’s came along.
When I saw the 1661 I fell in love with it straight away, the case with the contrasting blue numerals/markers was an instant attraction.
The next PAM to evoke the same feelings was the 979 and 961. I prefer the white/grey markers over the green, so the 979 it was. That forged carbon dial
However at 47mm case width and 57.4mm lug length I wasn’t sure if my rather modest 16.4cm wrist could pull this off. I searched for any posts regarding the larger PAM’s and smaller wrists but couldn’t find anything too helpful. I decided that if I pull the trigger and size is comfortable then I’d compile a guide that will hopefully be useful for other members that are in the same situation.
So in the blue corner:
PAM1661
Case width 44mm
Lug Length 53.9mm
And in the white corner:
PAM979
Case wisth: 47mm
Lug Length: 57.4mm
I find both watches comfortable to wear and neither feels too big. I think at this point it is also important to consider not only your wrist diameter but also the shape of it and the size of the flat part/face where the watch will sit. So as mentioned my wrist is just under 16.5cm. I do however have quite a large flat part which measures 50.3mm
The other things to consider are the shape of the lugs, the strap angle and the strap thickness. The strap on both of these PAM’s pull straight down so this means there can be a little overhang of the lugs on the wrist. Also the inner strap measurement when pulled straight down is quite a bit less than the lug to lug length on the 979, 47.5mm.
Some wrist shots to show the fit.
Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone that likes larger watches but is not sure if they can pull them off. I’d suggest either buying a cheap rep of the watch you are considering just to size it out see how it feels. Or buying the rep you are considering and if it doesn’t feel right just stick it on M2M.
When I saw the 1661 I fell in love with it straight away, the case with the contrasting blue numerals/markers was an instant attraction.
The next PAM to evoke the same feelings was the 979 and 961. I prefer the white/grey markers over the green, so the 979 it was. That forged carbon dial
However at 47mm case width and 57.4mm lug length I wasn’t sure if my rather modest 16.4cm wrist could pull this off. I searched for any posts regarding the larger PAM’s and smaller wrists but couldn’t find anything too helpful. I decided that if I pull the trigger and size is comfortable then I’d compile a guide that will hopefully be useful for other members that are in the same situation.
So in the blue corner:
PAM1661
Case width 44mm
Lug Length 53.9mm
And in the white corner:
PAM979
Case wisth: 47mm
Lug Length: 57.4mm
I find both watches comfortable to wear and neither feels too big. I think at this point it is also important to consider not only your wrist diameter but also the shape of it and the size of the flat part/face where the watch will sit. So as mentioned my wrist is just under 16.5cm. I do however have quite a large flat part which measures 50.3mm
The other things to consider are the shape of the lugs, the strap angle and the strap thickness. The strap on both of these PAM’s pull straight down so this means there can be a little overhang of the lugs on the wrist. Also the inner strap measurement when pulled straight down is quite a bit less than the lug to lug length on the 979, 47.5mm.
Some wrist shots to show the fit.
Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone that likes larger watches but is not sure if they can pull them off. I’d suggest either buying a cheap rep of the watch you are considering just to size it out see how it feels. Or buying the rep you are considering and if it doesn’t feel right just stick it on M2M.
