Although I have been to the P-Day 3 in 2004 and had a great time, I didn’t attend any of the later organized P-Days though. I figured out I am not the 1 brand kind of guy. Panerai are great watches however, certainly not the best watch you can buy for the money, but a great experience because with minimal effort you can change the entire look of the watch just by putting another type of strap on it.

I also understand the whole cult about the brand, being military watches during WWII; rediscovered and promoted by famous actors; being a family brand; having used Rolex movements in the past; using Zenith El Primero chronograph (36.000bph) and Omega Memomatic movements in limited editions; introducing their own inhouse movement; care for the online community etc. etc.

To celebrate all that, once a year, global Paneristi organize a P-Day! The vintage Panerai watches get most attention ofcourse, being rare / expensive and having that raw and military look. Using an ammo pouch strap on a brand new Panerai for example, can be seen as a way to imitate or as an attempt to get that look. The original deal though, is a vintage 1940s Panerai, with a handwound Rolex-Cortebert movement.

Although this brand is being critized by a lot of watchfreaks, the Paneristi community seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year. Panerai isn’t a hype or a fad anymore, this brand should be get a bit more respect in my opinion, using their own unique designed cases, nicely finished case/dial/buckles and movements. Besides using their own nicely crafted inhouse movements, the standard Unitas movements they use have been upgraded with a swanneck regulator and superb finish.

Perhaps not worth all the pennies you pay for it, but is a Rolex Daytona? Or an IWC watch based on a valjoux 7750? P-Day is about respect for Panerai watches, the company and for your fellow Paneristi. A nice thought!

Some fellow Dutchman did visit the 7th P-Day in Frankfurt and had a blast! Below are some photos to give you an impression of the Paneristi weekend. All pictures by Martin and Gert-Jan.

A few hours drive from The Netherlands to Frankfurt/Germany..

A happy place for Paneristi!

The new PAM 00026! Again, as with most Panerais, expect to be on a waiting list for this one

Same goes for this PAM 203!

More pictures can be found at www.paneristipix.com

A while ago, I posted about this watch strap made out of the leather interior of this Mercedes-Benz 300SLR (owned by Jean Todt). If you own a Panerai watch, you probably know all about this strap thing. I have seen them in all kinds of colors, materials (even elephant) and with all types of buckles and inscriptions.

A very popular leather strap seems to be the ammo pouch strap. Yes, an ammo pouch. Below you’ll see one of a Russian soldier outfit from the early 20th century.

I have seen some really nice models over at Catcherstraps, and for a decent price as well. The straps made by Ted Su are also very popular amongst Paneristi world wide. I really like the vintage Swiss ammo pouch strap by Ted Su, as pictured below, but for 250 USD I would like to see it before I buy it.

I have a couple of straps for my Panerai and a few of them are really stiff, which kinda annoys me after a full day of wear. It is great that WatchUseek has this special ‘StrapUseek’-forum, this way owners of these non-OEM straps can exchange information and experiences. I also have good experiences with buying straps from TCStraps, although they don’t seem to carry a lot of Ammo Pouch straps. However, they do have the famous Mario Paci 1938 straps The military pouch strap they have is quite nice though, see the picture below:

You can get really caught up in this Panerai strap thing if you don’t watch out!

Oh, shoot me. This Panerai Forum is something I set-up with the help of some Panerai enthusiasts. The Dutch Rolex Forum is quite popular, so I wondered if there would be space for a Dutch Panerai Forum as well. Panerai is a brand that I have the famous love - hate relationship with. I had this wonderful PAM 113 and sold it because I thought I could do without. Boy, I was wrong. I really missed the whole Panerai experience.. being a Paneristi, buying and changing Panerai straps once in a while (or too often). So, about a year after I sold it, I ran into this great looking Panerai 000. As good as new. And the enthusiasm was immediately there again. Anyway, as a result, I started the Dutch Panerai Forum. For Flemish and Dutch writing/reading Panerai enthusiasts. So if you are one of those, click and take a look at the forum!

http://www.paneraiforum.nl

Photo by Gertjan, visitor of the paneraiforum.nl site.