The New Panerai Luminor Marina PAM1663

For the last few years, Panerai’s Laboratorio di Idee has pushed the envelope in engineering and creativity. This year is no different with the introduction of their newest case material, Fibratech. 

The PAM 1663 case material, Fibratech, is a composite material made from Basalt rock fibers. Thin layers of these fibers are put together through a process where pressure and temperature are both controlled carefully. This results in a matte grey finish with each Fibratech watch having its own distinct look. The material is also 60% lighter than steel and extremely resistant to corrosion. For the bezel, Panerai chose to use another in-house material, Carbotech. Carbotech is made from taking layers of carbon fiber and then exposing them to an immense amount of pressure

The PAM 1663 is rated at 300m water resistance and is powered by an in-house PAM P.9010 automatic movement that features a three-day power reserve. The watch features a beautiful blue gradient dial that is paired nicely with a matching woven textured rubberized blue strap. 

As for the case, Panerai has chosen to go with their popular 44mm Luminor 1950 design. In an effort to simplify their offerings, Panerai no longer uses the “1950” designation in it’s Luminor collection. However, it’s worth noting for all watch enthusiasts who are new to the brand as it does have some distinguishing features from the non-1950 Luminor case. 

Along with the 70 Years of Luminor trio released last week, the new PAM 1663 offers a lot of new and exciting features for Paneristi and watch enthusiasts alike. Many longtime fans of the brand may be put off by Panerai’s releases in the last few years as they stray from what the Paneristi call “DNA”. That may be true to some extent, however, Panerai needs to evolve as a brand in order to remain competitive. The addition of these new case materials and lume technology is a nice step to get away from the image of being a “one-trick pony.”

Priced at $16,000, the PAM 1163 isn’t exactly cheap. With value retention on most Panerai models being “ok” at best, collectors will have to REALLY LOVE the recent Panerai offerings when considering to drop their hard earned coin. 

For more information, visit www.panerai.com

Written by Patrick Bernardez