Rolex Forums - Rolex Forum - Trading up to the 352

Hi everyone,

I have owned a PAM 183 Radiomir Black seal and a PAM 312 Steel in the past, and have always been content with those two watches, along with the other brands I have collected. I find the PAMs to be the most versatile to be worn on many occassions, and honestly, its my grail watch, it appealed to me the first time I know about "expensive" watches. The others I have such as Rolex, Jaeger, Zenith are all excellent masterpieces, great complications and so on... but the Panerai is the first and foremost the best looking watch I have to date. But that's a matter of taste and opinion...

So, content with my two modest Panerai collection, I was suddenly shocked by the release of a bunch of new Panerais on the 2010 SIHH.. I do love the 8 Giorni composite radiomir, but I figure that's out of my league.. and a few others. But what strikes me most is the PAM 351/352, and the Radiomir Titanium 8 Days...

Why are those two (well three) models appeal to me most? First of all, they're more of a realistic target for me, as I don't have a bucketload of cash doing nothing, hence it's still "buyable" and within my budget. Second, I LOVE the gold hands. I have tried to figure out how to "exchange/replace" my 312 PAM hands from silver to gold, and I almost purchased an after market gold hands from eBay... But my friend told me not to, and it would lose the watch's originality. Thirdly, it's Titanium... meaning its lighter for day to day usage, and I wear my watches all day long...

The one thing that bugs me most is it's tobacco dial. Give or take, I love brown colours/hues, but I wasn't too sure if a brown/tobacco dial is for mr. Especially I haven't seen one in person (Panerais are kinda hard to come by in my country here)... And when I saw a tobacco one on a Marina (not the 1950 case), I found it too brown for my tastes. Perhaps it's just me, or perhaps its the lighting, so I decided against it. Hence sticking with my 312.

But YESTERDAY, everything changed. A friend of mine happen to just have one for sale, a PAM 352, exactly like my 312, but with Titanium bracelet, case, gold hands, and... what worried me - the tobacco dial.

So we met up and I decided I wanted it anyway because I really really liked the golden hands.. and to my surprise, the tobacco dial is very very faint brown. It's more to a dark gray at most angles and under most lights... it wasn't as brown as I saw before (well it was a different model anyhow, but it was still the same "tobacco" dial). And along I brought along a brown strap... and it fits like a charm... and my friend happened to have a dark brown vintage strap for sale too! So, why not?! And it looks great! (Straps are from Mytee straps). And to my surprise, the titanium bracelet is so light! MUCH MUCH lighter than steel.

For those who worried about the model/design of the bracelet, it's very comfortable, very nice, and it fits great. However, I still (like many others), prefer the "crownguard" design. But I wouldn't say anything bad about the new design.

Hence, that night I decided to trade-in my 312 with the new 352, and I am VERY happy I made the decision.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...aemas/Pam1.jpg

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...aemas/Pam2.jpg

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...aemas/Pam3.jpg

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...aemas/Pam4.jpg

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/a...aemas/Pam5.jpg