Sell your Radiomir · South Florida · by appointment
Sell your Radiomir to someone who knows which case it is.
Wire lugs or the 1940 case, 40 to 47 mm, hand-wound or automatic, Black Seal or California dial: the case and the calibre set the offer. Send photos and I reply within 1 business day with a number and the reasons behind it.
- Wire-lug and Radiomir 1940 references priced on their own comparables
- Cushion case polish, sandwich dial, and the strap tool read from photos
- Prepaid insured FedEx label, or an appointment in your county
Who this page is for
The Radiomir is two cases and four sizes, each read on its own.
This page is for the owner of a Radiomir who wants to know which one they have in a dealer's eyes and what that does to the offer. A 45 mm PAM 210 on wire lugs, a 47 mm PAM 512 in the Radiomir 1940 case on the P.3000, and a 42 mm PAM 572 all say Radiomir on the dial. They are not compared against each other.
Most Radiomirs I see were bought as the dress Panerai, worn less than a Luminor, and come with one strap and no tool for the wire lugs.
Reading a PAM number, movement origin by era, the warranty card, and polishing in general are on the Panerai page. Here I cover only the Radiomir: the two cases, the sizes, the dials, the lugs, and what must be in your photos.
Selling a Radiomir to a private dealer
What a Radiomir specialist does differently.
Case before condition
I place the watch as a wire-lug Radiomir or a Radiomir 1940 first, then judge the case, lugs, and dial against what that family should look like.
The cushion case read for polish
The Radiomir case is polished on its flanks, so every past polish shows as a softened edge or a wave in the reflection. I say what I see.
Wire lugs, straps, and the tool counted
The wire lugs unscrew with a tool Panerai puts in the box, and the tool is the first thing lost. A complete strap set with the tool moves the offer up.
47 mm and vintage quoted after inspection
A 47 mm limited reference or a pre-war Radiomir is never priced from a photo. I give a working range from the images and a firm number under the loupe.
What I check on a Radiomir
Five things that move a Radiomir offer.
The Radiomir-specific variables. PAM numbering, the card, and service are on the Panerai page.
Wire lugs or the 1940 case
The original Radiomir has wire loop lugs and a conical crown. The Radiomir 1940 has solid lugs machined with the case and a cylindrical crown. They trade on separate comparables.
Case size: 40, 42, 45, or 47 mm
The 45 mm is the core wire-lug size and the 42 mm wears as a dress watch. The 47 mm references are the collector sizes, and the 40 mm is the newest.
Hand-wound, automatic, or eight days
OP calibres on Unitas and ETA bases, the in-house P.3000, the micro-rotor P.4000, and the eight-day P.2002 and P.5000 are separate markets. The caseback tells me which you have.
Sandwich dial and the California dial
Most Radiomirs carry a sandwich dial with deep-cut numerals. The California dial, half Roman and half Arabic on the PAM 249 and 424, is its own following.
Black Seal and numbered editions
Black Seal text at six, as on the PAM 183 and 380, and a numbered caseback on a limited run change the comparables. Send the full caseback engraving.
How it works
Four steps, Radiomir photos in the first.
01
Get an offer
Submit the appraisal form with photos of the dial in daylight, the case flank from the side so the polish reads, each wire lug where it meets the case, the full caseback engraving, the crown, each strap and buckle, the tool, and the warranty card. I reply personally within 1 business day.
02
Ship or meet
Take the prepaid, fully insured FedEx label, or book an appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach. The 47 mm references and any vintage Radiomir are best seen in person.
03
Inspect and confirm
I open the box on camera and check the case, lugs, dial, crown, calibre, PAM number, and card against the family. If it matches the photos, the offer stands.
04
Get paid
Wire or check within 24 hours of inspection. If we do not agree, the watch goes back to you, insured, at my cost.
Two Radiomir cases
The wire-lug Radiomir against the Radiomir 1940.
| Criteria | Wire lugs (PAM 210, 183, 190, 231, 337) | Radiomir 1940 (PAM 512, 514, 572, 574) |
|---|---|---|
| Lugs | Wire loops that unscrew from the case with the supplied tool | Solid lugs machined with the case, strap on screw bars |
| Crown | Conical crown, no guard | Cylindrical crown, no guard |
| Movement | OP calibres on Unitas and ETA bases, later in-house automatics | In-house P.3000 hand-wound or P.4000 micro-rotor automatic |
| Sizes | 40, 42, 45, and 47 mm | 42, 45, and 47 mm |
| What moves the offer | Up: unpolished flanks, both straps, the tool. Down: bent or mismatched wire lugs, polished edges | Up: full set with card, crisp lug edges. Down: polished lugs, a scratched caseback window |
Directions, not figures. The reply shows which rows moved your number.
The detail
What moves a Radiomir offer, case by case.
Wire lugs: the case that started the brand
The Radiomir is the older of Panerai's two shapes: a cushion case with wire loop lugs and a conical crown, with no crown guard. It is the shape the 1930s military pieces wore, and the modern references keep it. On a modern Radiomir the wire lugs unscrew from the case so the strap can pass through. A bent lug, a lug that does not sit flush, or two lugs of different finish tells me the watch has been worked on.
The wire-lug references
The PAM 210, 183, 190, 231, and 337 span 45 and 42 mm, hand-wound and automatic, on OP calibres built from Unitas and ETA bases. The 45 mm is the core size and the one most owners have. The 42 mm wears as a dress watch and has its own buyers. The newest wire-lug references, the 40 mm PAM 1292 and 1294, sit closer to new, so the card and the box count for more on them.
Radiomir 1940: solid lugs and in-house calibres
The Radiomir 1940 case keeps the cushion shape and the unguarded crown but replaces the wire loops with solid lugs machined from the case, and the crown becomes a plain cylinder. The PAM 512, 514, 572, and 574 run the in-house P.3000 hand-wound or the P.4000 micro-rotor automatic, in 42, 45, and 47 mm. The lug edges are the thing to photograph: they should be crisp, and a polish rounds them off.
Eight days, Black Seal, and the California dial
The Radiomir 8 Days, PAM 346 and 610, carries an eight-day hand-wound calibre and is priced apart from the three-day pieces. Black Seal references, the PAM 183 and 380 among them, print Black Seal at six and have a following that the plain dial does not. The California dial, half Roman and half Arabic numerals as on the 47 mm PAM 249 and 424, is the most asked-for Radiomir dial, and the 249 in particular is quoted in person.
The cushion case and polish
A Radiomir case is polished on the flanks and brushed on the top, which is the opposite of what most watches do. Polished flanks show every past polish as a wave in the reflection, and brushed tops show a home polish as swirl marks. Please do not polish it. An honest scratch is priced as a scratch; a refinished case is priced as a refinished case, and the second costs you more than the first.
Sandwich dials on a Radiomir
Most Radiomirs carry a sandwich dial: a lume layer under a cut-out plate, so the numerals sit below the surface. I check that the lume in the numerals matches the hands and that the plate sits flat with no lifting at the cut edges. A painted dial on a reference that should be sandwich, or the reverse, tells me the dial has been changed.
Straps, the tool, and the wire lugs
A wire-lug Radiomir changes straps by unscrewing the lugs with the small tool in the box, then sliding the strap tubes off. Without the tool most owners stop changing straps, which is why so many arrive with one worn strap and no tool. The original buckle, a second strap, and the tool each move the offer up. A Radiomir 1940 uses screw bars and the flat Panerai screwdriver instead, the same as a Luminor.
Vintage Radiomir and the 47 mm
A pre-war or wartime Radiomir, and the 47 mm limited references that revive it, are quoted after inspection and not from a photo. There are too many replaced dials and re-cased movements in that corner of the market to price one from a thumbnail. Book an appointment and I will give you a working range by email and a firm number in person.
When selling to me is not the right call
If you own a numbered 47 mm reference, a California dial, or anything pre-war, a specialist auction may reach a collector I cannot, and I will say so after inspection. If you want the watch sold this week, insured, inspected by one person, and paid within 24 hours of that inspection, this is the right page.
How to prepare your Radiomir submission
- The dial straight on, in daylight, close enough to see the cut-out numerals and the lume tone against the hands.
- The case from the side, so the polished flank and the brushed top both read, and each wire lug where it meets the case.
- The full caseback engraving, the caseback window if there is one, and the crown from the side.
- Each strap with its buckle, the lug tool or screwdriver, the box, and the warranty card beside the watch.
- Any Panerai service record, and the old lugs or strap if replacements came back in a bag.
Questions, answered
Before you send a Radiomir
Which Radiomir case do I have?
Look at the lugs. Wire loops that curve out from the case mean a wire-lug Radiomir. Solid lugs cut from the case with a plain cylindrical crown mean a Radiomir 1940. The PAM number on the caseback confirms it.
Is the 47 mm worth more?
Often, because the 47 mm references were made in smaller numbers and many are numbered editions. It is also the size I most want to see in person before I give a firm number.
Do you buy the Black Seal?
Yes. The PAM 183, 380, and the other Black Seal references are priced on their own comparables. Send the dial straight on so the Black Seal text reads clearly.
What if the strap tool is lost?
I still buy it. The offer moves a little against a set with the tool, and I check the lug screws for marks from a substitute. Say so in the form.
Can we meet in person?
Yes, by appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach. For a 47 mm reference or a vintage Radiomir I prefer it. Otherwise the FedEx label is prepaid and insured.
Sell your Radiomir
A real number on your Radiomir, in 1 business day.
Send the dial, case flank, lug, caseback, strap, and card photos listed above. I reply personally with an offer and the case behind it. Insured shipping is on me. Payout within 24 hours of inspection.