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Panerai Luminor Chronograph PAM 108 For AMG Luxury Watch Review

3,785 views · Published 9 September 2015 · 8:57 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: The 1916 Company · 2015 · Howto & Style

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THIS WATCH IS FOR SALE: http://www.thewatchbox.com/watches/panerai

Two icons in one 40mm brushed titanium case; that's the Panerai Luminor Chronograph PAM 108 for AMG.  And since we’re stacking our legends today, let’s add one more: Mercedes-Benz AMG. This 1-of-100 limited edition Luminor Chronograph is like the best of the hot-rod Benzes from Affalterbach; the PAM 108’s prestige is “under the hood” and in the details.

By combining the military heritage and cult-classic appeal of the Panerai Luminor with the high-horology landmark Zenith El Primero Chronograph, the watchmaker from Firenze offers a double-feature of marquee stars.

Since the launch of civilian market Panerai watches in 1993, only six of the 350+ known references have featured the revered Zenith El Primero chronograph caliber - and none have been produced for over a decade.

And this Panerai Luminor for AMG proves that Panerai truly does know how to co-brand with a luxury automaker. Unlike the later (and, uh… controversial) “Panerai for Ferrai” models, the PAM 108 AMG offers no explicit branding besides a discreet engraving on the underside of the case. Only the aggressive motorsports-inspired dial and tachymeter bezel betray the high-performance godfather of this Swiss-Italian chronograph.

The dial of the PAM 108 is a unique one. Clearly inspired by the dashboard instruments of AMG-modified Mercedes Benz autos, the PAM 108 combines an engaging variety of depth, texture, and color with deft composition. Nothing screams “co-branded,” but the upscale hooligan spirit of AMG is manifest in a watch face redolent of burning rubber, red-hot brake discs, and race gas vapor.

In every respect, the Panerai Luminor for AMG cuts the profile of a big-bore response to the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. While the Rolex Daytona model line rode out of sales purgatory on the high-cadence wings of the legendary Zenith El Primero movement , today’s Daytona no longer employs the revered but rare El Primero. The Panerai PAM 108 features the real deal; inside each Luminor Chronograph for AMG, the full 5hz (not the Rolex-detuned 4hz variant) El Primero keeps time with its distinctive “heartbeat.”

The Zenith El Primero ranks among the most celebrated mechanical watch movements of all time. Launched in 1969 as the first automatic, integrated (all components designed together), and high beat (36,000 VpH!) chronograph, the El Primero ("first") was born beautiful. When the absentee ownership ordered the movement's tooling to be sold for scrap at the height of the 1970s downturn in the mechanical watch market, an enterprising Zenith employee hid the dies...

...they were recovered during the 1980s, the El Primero was chosen as the power plant to the 1988 Rolex Daytona, and the rest is Swiss folklore. With its 50-hour power reserve, crisp column wheel function selector, robust construction, and distinctive high-beat "voice," the El Primero is the highlight of any luxury watch fortunate enough to bear Zenith's vaunted 5hz rock star.

The PAM 108 stands apart from other Panerai Luminors on that basis alone, but there's more to this dynamic device than its legendary movement.  

The combination of a polished steel bezel and brushed titanium case produces dramatic contrast, and the union of a 40mm case with the famed lightweight "gray metal" produces a sports watch that wears with sublime comfort.

Explicitly sporting in character, the PAM 108 is a Panerai that would appear at home trackside at Monaco, LeMans, or Indianapolis. The high-impact visuals of the chronograph and its calibrations are complemented by the contrasting effect of the black dial and silver subdials. Because few Panerai Luminor models share this aesthetic, the owner of a PAM 108 is assured of exclusivity; 100-unit limited production seals the deal.

Unique inside and out, the El Primero-powered Panerai Luminor Chronograph PAM 108 represents an opportunity to own a Panerai that can vie with Rolex's Cosmograph Daytona and Omega's Speedmaster Professional for sports chronograph "street cred."

See this Panerai Luminor Chronograph PAM 108 for AMG in high-resolution images on www.thewatchbox.com. Video and content by Tim Mosso

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