What do all the letters mean?

[Jonny5]

I wanted a Pam 177L but have just been told they arent available anymore and will be replaced by the 177M.

Is this a different watch altogether or are the letters just version numbers of the same watch, like v1 v2 etc?

Or are they official models from PAM?

 

[hooligan]

Those letters are official designation from Panerai. They refer to the year of production.

A - 1998
B - 1999
C - 2000
D - 2001
E - 2002
F - 2003
G - 2004
H - 2005
I - 2006
J - 2007
K - 2008
L - 2009
M - 2010

 

[Streetrod]

Geez... I'm being told the same... Earliest is late feb if not early mar...

 

[Jonny5]

so no more 177Ls

 

[WatchnScotch]

Seems strange they would release a 177M so close to the 177L.

 

[hooligan]

Seems strange they would release a 177M so close to the 177L.

The only thing that would need to be updated from L to M is the engraving on the caseback. Nothing else has changed for the 177.

 

[Glimmer]

Hmpf. guess I'll have to be even more patient then I've already been :/.

 

[levelmanroger]

What did Panerai do before 1998? Or is that when Stalone rescued them from the ash heap?

 

[Mambo]

PreV ...

http://www.paneraisource.com/models/prev.html

 

[levelmanroger]

I thought Pre V meant A through U!

;-)

 

[Mambo]

LOL ....

 

[HeadToucha]

The main question is what will Panerai do in like 15 years? :lol:

 

[shandroid]

What did Panerai do before 1998? Or is that when Stalone rescued them from the ash heap?

Stallone owns Panerai?

 

[Mambo]

He wears them, not owns the company .... LOL

 

[hooligan]

Stallone owns Panerai?

No, but he discovered the brand in 1995 when he was in Italy shooting the movie "Daylight". He liked them, so he ordered a bunch of them up with his signature on the caseback (the Slytech models) and brought them back to Hollywood to wear and give as gifts.

This helped immensely to revive the marque, which was later sold to the Vendome/Richemont group, in 1997 I believe.

 

[automatics]

What did Panerai do before 1998? Or is that when Stalone rescued them from the ash heap?

Apparently they're quite a legit company.
Some 100 years old.

Having made not just watches but quite a fair bit of instrumentation & equipment for the Italian Navy. like depth gauges & timing devices. Including a crazy 50pc run watch for the Egyptian Navy, the 60mm Egiziano.

 

[Spboudart]

Mine is a M, got it in July 2010, but ordered in april, almost n°400 on a 800 serie.
I'm surprise they have M left, I would expect someone to order now to get an N.
Pic, so you can see it's exactly like an L:

 

[automatics]

Silly question. but is that a rep?
The dagger & the bevel look pretty good...

 

[Spboudart]

Gen

 

[levelmanroger]

Can someone show me where the letter code is found on Pams? If I were looking to buy a pre-owned rep, how would I know which letter I was looking at?
Also, since they are essentially the sane watch just made in different years, is there any real point to knowing the letter code at all?
I appreciate the education, as I am proof-positive that post count does NOT equal knowledge!