Buy a Panerai · South Florida · by appointment
Buy a pre-owned Panerai that fits, from the person who inspected it.
Luminor, Luminor 1950, Radiomir, Submersible. Case size decides a Panerai purchase more than anything else, so every one in my case is listed with its size, calibre, PAM number, and strap set. Try it on in your county, or see it by photos, video, and a call.
- PAM number, case family, and calibre confirmed against the caseback
- Crown-guard lever, dial type, and strap set checked and listed
- Authenticated in person before it ships, guaranteed genuine
- Hand delivery in South Florida, insured FedEx across the USA
Who this page is for
A Panerai is bought with the wrist, not the catalog.
Buyers come to me for a Panerai with a picture in mind and a size question they have not settled. Is 44 mm too big? Is 42 mm still a Panerai? Hand-wound or in-house? Luminor or Luminor 1950? And is a marketplace listing with a long PAM number safe to pay for? This page answers those from the buyer's side.
How Panerai references are read, the OP and PAM engravings, sandwich and printed dials, movement origin by era, the editions, all of that is on my sell page for Panerai and its Luminor, Radiomir, and Submersible pages. I link it rather than repeat it. Here you get what to check before you pay, why size comes first, how a Panerai gets into my case, and when to search instead of wait.
No prices on this page. Panerai made many references in small runs, and the market for each moves on its own. The catalog carries the numbers for what is in the case.
Buying a Panerai from a private dealer
What you get that a listing cannot give you.
Tried on before you commit
A 44 mm Luminor 1950 and a 42 mm Luminor Marina wear nothing alike. At an appointment you put both on. By remote, I film the watch on a wrist so you see the lug span.
The PAM, confirmed
I check the PAM on the card against the caseback engraving and the calibre inside. A watch is listed under the reference it actually is, with the dial type it actually has.
The strap set, listed
Second strap, spare buckle, and the screwdriver that came in the box. I list what is present. A Panerai without them is still a good watch, and you should know before you pay.
Seen before you pay
By appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach, or by photos, video, and a call anywhere in the USA. Nothing ships until you have seen it.
Guaranteed genuine
Panerai is copied often. Every one I sell was authenticated by me before listing: case, lever, engraving, movement, card. The known history goes in the listing.
Before you pay for any Panerai
Six things to check, wherever you buy.
I check these before a Panerai reaches my case. If you are buying elsewhere, check them yourself.
Caseback engraving and the card
The OP number, serial, and year letter on the caseback should agree with the card. On newer pieces the PAM is engraved too. A mismatch is settled before any money moves.
Sandwich or printed dial
Cut-out numerals over a lume plate, or lume printed on top. Both are correct on the references that shipped with them. Make sure the dial belongs to the PAM you are paying for.
Movement origin by era
Hand-wound OP calibres on a Unitas base and ETA automatics in the early years; P.2002, P.9000, P.3000, and P.9010 later. Through a display back, the calibre should be the one the reference carries.
The lever and the cushion case
The crown-guard lever should close with a click and show no play at the pivot. The flat brushed surfaces of the case should still be flat; a polish rounds them.
Strap bars, straps, and tool
Most Luminor cases hold the strap on screw bars. Ask for the second strap, the original buckle, and the screwdriver, and whether an aftermarket strap replaced the original.
Card, registration, and service
A warranty card with a dealer stamp, any extended-warranty registration, and Panerai service papers. An independent service without records is unknown history.
How buying works here
Four steps, one person.
01
Choose from the case, or ask
Browse the Panerai references in the catalog. If the size, case family, or PAM you want is not there, tell me and I search my private network for it.
02
Try it on
By appointment, Monday to Saturday, in your county or at my Brickell office. Out of state, I send photos and video of the watch on a wrist and I walk you through it on a call before anything ships.
03
Pay and take delivery
I hand-deliver in South Florida. Elsewhere in the USA the watch ships FedEx Priority Overnight, fully insured, signature at both ends, in discreet unbranded packaging.
04
Inspect it yourself
Remote purchases come with an inspection window on arrival, stated in the terms. If the watch is not what the photos and the call described, it comes back.
A buyer's decision
42 mm or 44 mm.
Most Panerai demand sits at these two sizes. The right one depends on your wrist and on which references you want access to.
| Criteria | 42 mm | 44 mm |
|---|---|---|
| On the wrist | Reads as a large watch on most wrists; sits under a cuff | Reads as a Panerai; the lugs span a smaller wrist and the cuff is a negotiation |
| References to consider | Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic PAM 1392, the 42 mm Luminor Due, 42 mm Radiomir 1940 pieces | Luminor Marina PAM 111 hand-wound, PAM 312 and PAM 1312 automatics, Luminor Base PAM 5, Submersible PAM 24 |
| Calibres you will meet | Mostly in-house automatics, P.9010 and later, with three days of reserve | The whole history: hand-wound OP on Unitas, ETA automatics, P.9000, P.9010 |
| Pre-owned supply | Thinner, and newer; fewer hand-wound options | Deep; the most-traded size and the easiest to find complete |
| Thickness | Slimmer, especially the Due, which trades water resistance for it | Tall; the 1950 case with its domed crystal is taller still |
| Who it suits | A buyer who wants the design on a smaller wrist or under a sleeve | A buyer who wants the proportions Panerai is known for and the widest choice |
If neither fits, there is the 40 mm from the early 2000s and the 45 and 47 mm pieces above. Try them on. A Panerai bought in the wrong size is sold within a year.
The detail
Buying a Panerai pre-owned, decision by decision.
Why case size decides the purchase
Every Panerai family is sold in several sizes, and the same dial reads differently at 42, 44, and 47 mm. The lugs on a Luminor are long, so a 44 mm case spans more wrist than a 44 mm round watch would. Decide your size before you decide your reference. The 44 mm Luminor is the classic and the easiest to find; the 42 mm is the modern everyday size; the 47 mm is the original Radiomir and 1950 proportion and belongs to buyers who want it on purpose.
Which case family to buy
The Luminor is the flat-sided cushion with the crescent lever. The Luminor 1950 is rounder, thicker, with a domed crystal, and carries most of the in-house references. The Radiomir has wire lugs and a screw-down crown with no guard, and the Radiomir 1940 keeps the cushion with solid lugs. The Submersible adds a rotating bezel. The Luminor Due is thin and dressier with a lower water rating. The sell pages for the Luminor, Radiomir, and Submersible list the references in each.
Hand-wound or in-house automatic
A hand-wound Luminor on an OP calibre built from the Unitas 6497, like the PAM 111 or PAM 5, is the Panerai that made the brand's reputation after the 1997 relaunch: simple, thick, and easy to service. An in-house automatic, the P.9000 from around 2009 and the P.9010 from about 2016, gives three days of reserve and a thinner 1950 case. The earlier watch is a collector's Panerai; the later one is an everyday watch. Neither is wrong. Buy the one you will wear.
What to check before you pay, wherever you buy
Read the caseback engraving and match it to the card. Confirm the dial type matches the PAM. Work the lever and feel for play. Look across the case flats in raking light for the softening of a polish. Ask for the strap set and the tool. Ask who serviced it and whether there are papers. Panerai is one of the most copied brands I see, so if any answer is vague, walk away. My authentication page explains what my own inspection covers.
How a Panerai gets into my case
I buy every Panerai in person or on my own insured label and inspect it the day it arrives: engraving against card, calibre through the display back, lever, case flats, dial type, lume, strap set. A pre-Vendôme piece or a limited edition is only bought in hand. If a watch needs service, it goes to Panerai before it is listed and the papers come with it. The listing names the PAM, the size, the calibre, the dial type, and what came with the watch.
Catalog or a commissioned search
If the Panerai in the case is your size and family, buy it; complete examples with their strap sets do not wait long. If you want a specific PAM, a particular edition, a 47 mm 1950 on its original strap, tell me. I source through a private network and buy for you only after the same inspection a catalog piece gets. Limited editions can take time; I will not promise a date.
When buying a Panerai from me is not the right call
If you want a current-catalog Luminor in a standard configuration and a full warranty, a boutique will sell you one without a wait, and that may serve you better. If you have not yet put a 44 mm on your wrist, do that first, anywhere, before buying from anyone. If you want a discontinued reference, a complete strap set, or one person who inspected the watch and will deliver it by hand, that is what I do. A trade toward the Panerai is credited after the same inspection.
Questions, answered
Before you buy a Panerai
Can I try the watch on before I pay?
Yes. By appointment, Monday to Saturday, in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach, or at my office in Brickell. With Panerai I encourage it, because the size decides the purchase.
Do you sell to buyers outside South Florida?
Yes, anywhere in the USA. Photos, video of the watch on a wrist, and a call before it ships, fully insured with signature required, and an inspection window on arrival stated in the terms.
What does guaranteed genuine mean on a Panerai?
I authenticated the watch myself before listing it: caseback engraving against the card, movement, lever, dial, and lume. If a watch I sold you is ever shown not to be what I described, that is on me.
Can I trade my watch toward a Panerai?
Yes. Send the trade details through the appraisal form. It is inspected and credited against the Panerai, from the case or sourced.
Buy a Panerai
Try one on, or tell me which PAM you want.
Every Panerai I sell was inspected by me before it was listed and is guaranteed genuine. Appointments in your county, hand delivery in South Florida, insured shipping across the USA.