- 25/10/06
- 993
- 23
- 18
This test is dedicated to my friends Takashi who had lent me this watch to write an article on it and Stephane who has probably the most beautifully modified example.
Officine Panerai, formerly known as Guido Panerai & Figlio, has always rather been an engineering company than a horological one which is explainable by its roots. Building equipment for military purpose only, the demand of the Italian Navy was reduced dramatically after the fall of the iron curtain. The brand, until then only producing a few but precisely crafted instruments for specialists, had to rethink their policy. They introduced a single huge Radiomir model limited to 1000 pieces, a civilian version, to the Italian public in 1993. It did not really take off the way the OP had hoped, but it had the huge fortune that Sylvester Stallone accidentally discovered it during his stay in Florence for his “Daylight†motion picture. Stallone has a problem with his sight and of course was stunned by the great legibility due to the giant dial and a lot of luminous material. Luckily, Stallone also has the wrist to wear such a large watch – keep in mind that OP really is the trendsetter in huge sportswatches. Back then nobody was used to sizes bigger than a Rolex sportswatch, 40mm was the maximum.
So, after shooting successfully his “Daylight†movie, John Rambo – erm, Sylvester Stallone – returned to the States and soon asked OP to produce a few hundred of these watches for his personal friends (for marketing reasons is my guess) with the “Daylight†writing on the dial and his engraved signature on the casback. Somehow one of these watches got on the desk of Johann Rupert. He liked the watch a lot and was impressed by its design, size and its uniqueness. And, as he is incidentally CEO and majoritarian owner of the Richemont- formerly known as Vêndome group, he initially decided he would like to have a watch like this. But he did not mean this particular watch, nor the model, but the entire brand! The brand went into the Vêndome group in 1997 and that is also when the triumphal procession of it really took of.
The “Daylight†model, however, remained until today as a fancy chronograph line in the Luminor series, which is not only the most successful, but also the most distinctive series of the brand. It can be seen as the unifying strand which stands significantly for the rocket-like resurrection of the brand. It is not the military device anymore like its ancestors, but a true sportswatch.
Genuine Technical Data:
Reference: Pam196
Caliber: OP XII (ETA Valjoux 7753, COSC certified)
Movement: manual winding mechanical
Powerreserve: min. 46h
Vibration: 28.800bph
Jewel: 27 jewels
Case: Steel
Water resistance: 100m (330ft)
Crown: registered half-moon shaped guard system
Caseback: Screwed in
Crystal: 2.5mm thick cambered sapphire, AR coated
Diameter: 44mm
Lugsize: 24mm
The replica in regard here is one of the so called old cases which are discontinued. It strikes with a real love to the detail – no sharp edges and the brushed finish is excellent, on par with a genuine. The most distinctive part is probably the polished bezel with tachymetre scale on a satin finished case which is of the luminor cushion style. This sets a cool contrast and draws the attention to the large dial which has unlike the successor Pam250 luminous roman numerals on every hour position but 3, 6 and 9. The dial font is close to perfection, bold and ivory-white letters and indexes with a very clean print. The indexes on 3, 6 and 9 o’ clock are luminous, same as distinctive indexes on the subdials.
On the replica, the lume on the dial is nowhere near the genuine item, it is simply too weak. A relume would be highly appropriate but not an easy job due to the sausage style roman numerals. I have seen impressive results from some modders on member’s pieces though, like Stephane’s 196 for example. The dial has a so called tricompax subdial alignment, which gives the whole watch a way more balanced appearance than a standard 7750 which has the subdials on 12, 9 and 6 o’ clock. The datewindow was therefore moved to the position between 4 and 5 o’ clock. With white numerals on black background, it really submerges into the design. It is really small and with no magnification, it leaves no doubt that the main idea on this watch lies in its sportiness and legibility, which helps the watch appear less busy.
(Picture courtesy of Stephane)
Due to the fact that the genuine is based on a 7753 and this particular is powered by a 7750 engine, the datewheel is really recessed. This is sad, but can be solved by switching to a 7753 with a different spacer that allows the datepusher at 10 o’clock to work. The 7750 has its date set through the crown, while the 7753 uses the already mentiond pusher at 10. Panerai therefore supplies this model with an extra date-pusher. The spacer of the 7750 with tricompax outlay has of course no cut-out at that place.
The hands are highly polished and of a nice shape increasing the legibility even more. The minute and hourhand can be distinguished at a glance. All hands excluding the stopcounter contain luminous material, including the rather unimportant subdials. This can be a little confusing but helps the watch to a more balanced appearance. Takashi relumed all of the hands himself, by the way. He did a good job at that!
Over it all domes a cambered sapphire of around the same thickness as the genuine. It was treated by another friend, K2222, with his latest and best anti reflective coating. The result is mindblowing, really. I have never seen something like this before, neither on rep nor on genuine. Reflections remain absent on this crystal even under direct sunlight, but of course not on the dial and polished hands. I really dazzled myself by trying it out in the summer sun. Still, some nicely rich blue tint is visible from certain angles, giving the watch an almost majestic look – one of the understated odds and ends that make a watch appear expensive in my opinion.
Next to the polished bezel, the famous half-moon shaped crownguard sets the other highlight of the watchdesign. It is just as polished which is contrasting its origin purpose – protecting the crown and locking it up. This increases the luxury style factor even more, as it clearly says: the owner does not get dirty – but it’s ready if he wanted to. The lever feels a bit wobbly and the pin holding it is a little to round and recessed – an easy fix for a competent modder though. Unfortunately, the lever has some space to the crownguard if locked when compared to the genuine.
In my opinion this is due to the slightly different construction OP had to make to include pushers into the luminor case. They did a good job by cutting out room for square pushers that suit the shape of the watch perfectly. They have a very nice pressure point, by the way.
The replica factory had obviously a problem to copy this design in good tolerances. Nevertheless, the lever does its job and presses the crown onto the seal.
The watch passed the leakchecker flawless – now I am curious if it will survive the 10 bar AD test in ten days.
The above mentioned crown is almost correct for an automatic pam, a little thinner than the ones on Unitas based models. It can be pulled into two positions, one for the hand adjustment, the second for the date. Last is a clear flaw as mentioned above. However, the movement behind the stem does its job impressively well, with gaining an average plus of 5 seconds per 24h and 7 seconds being the greatest difference between all six positions. I have seen genuine doing worse than that.
Due to the large rotor inside, the watch remains even more present at the wrist, than it already is thanks to its dimensions. The automatic mechanism could be a little more silent though – which is caused by the fact the rotor is too loose.
The Asian 7750 however is pretty beautiful decorated with PANERAI engravings and Côtes de Geneve stripes on the rotor and circular-grain on the movement. It is lacking of shaped and polished edges though.
It will need to be replaced soon or it will start to rub against the caseback which is decorated from the inside. Please note that the gasket is not of the right size, it is too large. Nevertheless it obviously works.
From the outside, it is deeply engraved with a satin finish. It is also individualised by a unique limitation number, but as it seems, the serial remains PB513275 on all pieces.
The word “Daylight†recurs here as same as on the dial.
(Picture courtesy of Stephane)
It wears superb even on skinny wrists like mine though. Those who met me on the last GTG can assure you, I am not able to wear a Fiddy without looking ridiculous. This watch, just like any other Luminor, is different. It wears just great and I had a tough fight to prevent my girlfriend from borrowing it. Again, it is Taka’s watch – she can break my own watches, not the borrowed ones!
All in all, this watch screams “Fashionista!â€; probably the most stylish and handsome chronograph I ever had on my wrist. It will give me a hard time to hand it back to my friend Takashi and I thank him for the time I was allowed to enjoy it!
Wear it proud and in good health, mate!
CONCLUSION
Officine Panerai Luminor Daylight Chrono 196
Strap and clasp (max. 10points)
Thick and comfortable handmade leatherstrap with a large, unbranded buckle.
Can be changed easily due to River’s springbars to match different occasions.
10p
Operation (5)
Easy adjustment, even though it is different from genuine operation.
4p
Design (15)
Timeless, sportive but elegant. Can be distinguished from any other Brand at a glance for it managed to interpret the historic look in a modern way.
13p
Instrument read-out (5)
Only the weak dial-lume prevents full score.
4p
Wearing comfort (10)
Feels good and present on the wrist, very comfortable for a watch of this size.
9p
Movement (15)
Excellent rate-results, beautiful decoration.
Unfortunately the loose rotor prevents a really good score.
10p
Accuracy and reliability (15)
The weak lume and the recessed datewheel are dead give-aways, but only a freak would notice this.
It has a gen feel.
10p
Workmanship (15)
Impressive, the casework is in the highend. Crownguard- and lever-construction could be better though.
10p
Countervalue (10)
As the case is discontinued I am sure prices will increase in the next months, especially for modified pieces with ETA Valjoux 7753.
Some of you will be reminded of a good trade that was busted by one side that felt the urge to get out a few bucks more…
9p
My valuation: 79%
