Price of Admission: What Are the Least Expensive Panerai Watches?

Panerai might be the most in-your-face example of the quintessential Tool Watch That Made Good as a Luxury Item. Unlike many other contenders for that title, a Panerai watch today looks essentially the same as it did back in the 1940s, when Italian navy frogmen wore them into underwater combat. Few concessions have been made to modern tastes and trends: the luminous material on the dials is no longer radioactive (inarguably a positive change), Rolex no longer makes the cases, and you no longer have to be a naval commando to own one, but otherwise the relatively few models that make up the Panerai family have stubbornly adhered to their military-issue origins. It is this adherence that makes Panerai, for many, an all-or-nothing proposition — either you’re in the brand’s worldwide, rabid coterie of fans and collectors, proudly self-dubbed the Paneristi, or you roll your eyes at the notion of ever owning one: they’re too big, too flashy, too clunky, too Stallone. 

This article, the latest in our series of Price of Admission guides, is aimed at those aspiring to join the former group — in other words, those wishing to pull the trigger on their first Panerai but possibly intimidated by the breadth of choices — and, of course, by the ticket price for entry to that first tier of Paneristi-land. Without further ado, let’s find the most affordable Panerai watches in each of the current product families.

RADIOMIR

The Radiomir, first conceived in 1935 but tracing its most recognizable traits to the wartime 1940s, is the wellspring of all Panerai timepieces and established many of the elements that define the collection today: the big, cushion-shaped case, sandwich-style dial with stencil-type, luminous Arabic numerals, diamond-shaped crown, and heavy-duty, contrast-stitched leather strap. The watch was named after the radium-based substance that made its dial glow deep underwater, as its raison d’ètre was to serve as a useful accessory to the deep-diving demolition experts of the Royal Italian Navy. 

Panerai Radiomir Officine (PAM01384)

Appropriately, it is within the Radiomir family that the most entry-level option for a budding Paneristo (or Panerista) resides. The Radiomir Officine, in a steel 45mm case and sporting a simple two-handed dial (Ref. PAM01382 in black, PAM01383 in blue), is priced at $4,900;  it’s currently the only Panerai that comes in at an MSRP under $5,000 before taxes. Many will appreciate its very no-frills, utilitarian look, truly a throwback to the wartime models, especially in the black-dial version. The movement is similarly old-school — Panerai’s hand-winding Caliber P.6000, which beats at a midrange frequency of 21,600 vph and stores a power reserve of three days. Panerai describes Caliber P.6000 as an in-house movement, and introduced it into the line in 2018 to replace the ETA Unitas 6497 calibers that it had long been using in entry-level models such as these. For an upcharge of $500, you can acquire a steel Radiomir Officine watch with a small seconds display at 9 o’clock (PAM01384); these models also use the manually wound Caliber P.6000; presumably the seconds function has been stripped out of the version used in the less expensive watches.

Panerai Radiomir Quaranta (PAM01572)

If you’re looking to go a bit smaller than the bulky but more historically accurate 45mm Radiomir, consider the Radiomir Quaranta series, which Panerai introduced in 2023 as a more modest alternative, with the same classical cushion-shaped case measuring 40mm (“Quaranta” is “Forty” in Italian, the native tongue of brand founder Guido Panerai). The stainless steel Radiomir Quaranta (PAM01570/71/72/73), outfitted with the automatic Caliber P.900, which drives both a small seconds display and a date calendar, starts at an even $6,000. The lineage of Caliber P.900, for those who are interested in such things, is apparently a bit convoluted. It’s a Panerai-exclusive movement in its current form but apparently uses as a base the Caliber BM12-1975A “Baumatic,” produced for Baume & Mercier by Swiss movement-maker ValFleurier; all three companies are owned by the Richemont Group. Notably, the base caliber, which offers a five-day power reserve, has been adjusted in its Panerai version, for a more modest but still very adequate three-day running autonomy, which matches that of its in-house peers. (Cartier and IWC, both also Richemont brands, use versions of the Baumatic in some models as well.) The Quaranta series is fairly small thus far but no doubt destined to expand as the trend toward smaller case dimensions continues. 

Panerai Radiomir Otto Giorni (PAM01347)

Then there’s the perplexing case of the Radiomir Tre Giorni (“Three Days”, aka the PAM01334) which appears in almost every significant respect the same watch as the Radiomir Officine — same material, same dimensions, same closed caseback, and same movement — but retails significantly higher, at $7,100. A close perusal of the model’s specs on Panerai’s website reveals that the case material of the Tre Giorni is described as “Patina Steel,” while the baseline Radiomir Officine is “Polished Steel.” Whether that difference merits a price differential of $2,200(!) will of course be up to the consumer to decide. Of course, if a long power reserve is your most coveted feature in a luxury watch, and you have about ten grand to pony up for it, Panerai also offers the Radiomir Otto Giorni (PAM01347, $9,700 in steel), whose P.5000 movement will run for a full eight days. 

LUMINOR

While the Radiomir can claim the longest lineage, it’s the Luminor family that probably best represents the modern Panerai ideal. Very aesthetically similar to its ancestor in most regards, the Luminor, which debuted in 1949, added a now-iconic feature, originally designed to improve the Radiomir’s underwater reliability — a bridge-like crown-locking device that protrudes from the right side of the case. Still patented and exclusive to Panerai, the device uses a locking lever to press the screwed crown securely into the case to ensure watertightness,  while also adding bulk — and many would argue, a distinct character — to the watch. It was the Luminor that Sylvester Stallone famously wore in the 1995 movie Daylight, which helped skyrocket the model, and the brand, to new heights of popularity.

Panerai Luminor Base Logo (PAM01086)

If nothing but a Luminor will do for your first Panerai, your entry-level option is the steel-cased Luminor Base Logo (so named, evidently, for the vintage Officine Panerai “OP” logo on the dial, an element not found on more elevated models), priced at $5,600 in a 44mm steel case (PAM01086 with black dial, PAM01087 in white). It is equipped with the same hand-winding Caliber P.6000 as the base Radiomir — technically the P.6000 NS, for “no seconds,” as this watch also eschews any kind of seconds display. If you really need to see those seconds ticking away, a price bump to $6,100 will buy the version with a 9 o’clock seconds subdial, aka the Luminor Logo (PAM01084 in black dial, PAM01085 in blue). That watch contains the seconds-equipped version of Caliber P.6000. There are also “Otto Giorni” versions of the Luminor, equipped with the same eight-day Caliber P.5000 as the Radiomir Otto Giorni — $7,100 for the two-handed PAM00914,  $7,600 for the PAM00915 with small seconds. You’ll probably note that these prices are lower than that of the Radiomir model; a closer look at the details reveals the possible reason, that the latter is a boutique exclusive with a case made of Panerai’s proprietary Brunito eSteel, which has a “burnished” PVD finish for an aged look. The Luminors use a more conventional polished stainless steel.

Panerai Luminor Marina (PAM01316)

As a smaller wrist-size option, Panerai offers the 40mm Luminor Quaranta (starting at $7,800), with a brushed steel case and the automatic P.900 Caliber, which operates a date indication and a small seconds display on the dial and stores a three-day power reserve. Dial choices are blue (PAM01370), white (PAM01371), and black (PAM01372). And for those who have noticed at this point the dearth of options on a bracelet (there are none in the Radiomir family), the least expensive of those can be found in the 44mm Luminor Marina series, for $9,500. These models carry the reference numbers PAM01564 (white dial), PAM01316 (blue) and PAM 01562 (black) and contain the self-winding P.9010 movement with three days of power. Panerai is relatively new to the bracelet game, though the breadth of choices is likely to expand in coming years. 

SUBMERSIBLE

While the entire Panerai portfolio has its roots in diving — it’s probably the only watch brand that can make that claim — there is really only one model that actually passes muster as a dive watch these days, and that’s the Submersible, once a branch of the Luminor family but now a full-fledged family of its own. As you’d expect, it’s Panerai’s most ruggedly sporty, unapologetically military-looking timepiece, and since it debuted as Panerai’s third pillar in 2019, it has grown in diversity and functionality. (In fact, some of Panerai’s most bold innovations in case materials can be found in this collection, but since those are anything but entry-level in price, we won’t be spotlighting them here.) 

Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro "Blu Profondo" (PAM01289)

The standard Submersible — recognizable for its combination of the patented crown-locking bridge and a ruggedly built, ratcheting dive-scale bezel — finds its most accessible iteration in a 42mm stainless steel case on a black rubber or textile strap (PAM01590 with white dial, PAM02973 with black dial)  priced at $9,500 —  just under that $10,000 bar that, for many, would represent the upper limit of “affordable.” The watches carry the automatic Caliber P.900 and the dials accordingly display the date and the running seconds at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, respectively. Add $100 to the MSRP and you can get a 42mm steel Submersible (PAM02683) with a ceramic insert for the divers’ bezel, an extra layer of modern luxury that certainly wouldn’t have been seen on the 1950s “L’Egiziano” watch made for the Egyptian navy, this model’s most direct forebear. 

Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro (PAM01596)

Befitting its military origins, the Submersible line offers nothing smaller than 42mm but does offer a slightly larger model, the Submersible QuarantaQuatro (you guessed it, “44”). In brushed stainless steel (PAM01596), and outfitted with the same Caliber P.900, the watch’s extra 2mm adds an additional $400 to the baseline cost: $9,900 for the 44mm watch as opposed to $9,500 for the 42mm. Also, like any good luxury tool watch these days, the Submersible is available in several titanium-cased versions — aka the Submersible Titanio — the most attainable of these (PAM02305) coming in over that intimidating $10k horizon at $10,700. Also, just to cover all possible enthusiast bases, there is a steel version on a metal bracelet (PAM02068), pushing the boundaries a bit further at $11,700.

LUMINOR DUE

The Luminor Due (Literally, “Luminor Two”) entered the collection in 2016 as an offshoot of the Luminor family with a thinner case profile, representing one of Panerai’s earliest recent efforts to expand its audience with more modestly dimensioned options. Today, it is considered, at least by Panerai, to be a separate family all its own, the fourth pillar of the portfolio. The entry-level Radiomir, Luminor, and Submersible all have case thicknesses around 13+mm (exact specs are difficult to come by, for some reason, and Panerai doesn’t provide them), while the Luminor Due models hover around a more modest 10mm. The entry-level Luminor Due has not only the thinnest case on this list but also the smallest case diameter: the steel-cased PAM01248 measures an understated 38mm, with a polished finish and a sun-brushed ivory dial, and comes on a bright red leather strap; similar models with different dial colors and straps, as well as reference numbers, are also available. Despite these relatively diminutive dimensions, the Luminor Due occupies a slightly higher echelon of pricing than the base Radiomir and the larger Luminor, starting at $6,900 on a strap and at a full grand more on a steel bracelet ($7,900).

Panerai Luminor Due 38mm (PAM01248)

You must admit: It is, for lack of a better descriptor, very Panerai that its least expensive watches are not the smallest, thinnest models in its lineup, but the ones that are most evocative of the big, utilitarian military pieces that brought the brand to the watch-enthusiast party several decades ago. In a very real sense, a collector will often make compromises to acquire his or her first watch from a coveted brand — whether that’s size, movement, newness, or some other aspect. If you’re used to much smaller watches but still intrigued about joining the ranks of the Paneristi, upsizing from your comfort zone might be something worth considering.