The Panerai Radiomir Venti PAM02020, for the 20th Anniversary of Paneristi.com (Live Pics)

The collecting community has always been drawn to vintage sports watches. However, when it comes to Panerai, we’re talking about one of the most active and authoritative web communities existing. They even have a name – the Paneristi – and a website dedicated to their passion – paneristi.com. Active, passionate owners who can also be quite critical… Tough love, they say. This community is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and, as a tribute to them, Panerai thought it would be nice to treat them to something they’d like. So here’s the Panerai Radiomir Venti PAM02020, made especially to mark the 20 years of Paneristi.com.

As you can imagine, this watch couldn’t only be an internal project. The community had to be invited into the creation process in order for the watch not only to make sense, but also to please the Paneristi. The PAM02020 “Venti” (Italian for twenty) is the result of a joint creation process between the Laboratorio di Idee, Panerai’s technical and creative team, and the Paneristi. Both timepiece and tribute, its sole vocation is to celebrate this group of loyal connoisseurs and owners. And the result is a classic Radiomir watch, with multiple aged details.

The case, shaped in the pure Radiomir tradition with its wire lugs and cushion form, measures 45mm in diameter and 14.15mm in height. Certainly not a small watch, but two issues must be addressed. First of all, the “oversized” case has always been part of the brand’s DNA and contributes to the appeal of Panerai watches. Smaller Panerai watches, even those for small wrists, don’t really have the same aura. Second, the Radiomir, due to the absence of traditional lugs, feels far more compact than its diameter suggests – see the wristshot on my 16.5cm wrist. Sure, it isn’t small but it remains totally acceptable.

The case, guided by the ideas of the Paneristi, is a made of AISI 316L steel with a matte, aged patina effect. Don’t be scared by the name, as you can see on our photos the result is relatively discreet. It adds an instrumental look to the watch and the matte render that makes it quite pleasant. The bezel is steel too, with a matte finish and the crown retains its classic diamond shape, without a protective device. The case is water-resistant to 100m.

One of the multiple specificities of this Radiomir Venti PAM02020 is the caseback, which for the occasion has been engraved with “20th Anniversary PANERISTI.COM”. Also, between the lugs at  6 o’clock, owners will read another engraving saying “VENTI”. The watch is worn on a typical Panerai strap, here in brown with beige stitching, even though the brand announces a beige suede strap as standard, with a hot-stamped “OP” logo.

The dial is also new to this PAM02020. First, it shows a nice sunray-brushed brown colour, playing a lot with the ambient light and creating elegant reflections. Second, and once again a signature feature, is the so-called sandwich dial with areas of the top plate cut out to reveal the numerals and the luminous plate underneath coated in beige Super-LumiNova. The hands are gold coloured and are sword-shaped, a tribute to the brand’s earliest models. The hours and minutes display is as simple as it gets. A “PANERISTI.COM 2000-2020” engraving can be seen at 6 o’clock – a feature that I would have maybe avoided, but that’s a personal thing.

At the heart of the watch is an in-house movement, calibre P.6000. This simple but robust hand-wound engine run at a 3Hz frequency and can store up to 72h of power reserve in its single barrel. It is known to be stable thanks to the presence of a bridge with dual supports. It features a stop-seconds, even though no seconds hand is displayed here.

Price and availability

The Panerai Radiomir Venti PAM02020 for the 20th anniversary of Paneristi.com will be a limited edition of 1,020 pieces. It is priced at EUR 6,500. More details at www.panerai.com.