Out of the two you mentioned, would be the Radiomir for me for numerous reasons. Luminor should be 44mm...shouldn't have a date window...the odd coloured seconds hand seems out of place...the 1272 just does nothing for me at all.

I wouldn't have either personally but that's not the question you asked heh, so yup, out of the two, the Radiomir.

 

To everyone that has given their reply, thank you so much! I appreciate them all!

To all that mentioned Pam's with 44mm and 47mm cases: I've added pics below of some I tried on at the end of 2020 just for reference. About the 44mm/47mm cased Pam's, honestly I'm not considering them due to my looking for something thinner and easier to wear, I'm not sure of the weight, but anything with 90+grams on the head alone, for me, feels top heavy and I get wrist fatigue quickly from the heft..

Now for specifics:



@Maviarab : Yeah I'm with you on the colored seconds hand, not sure why Panerai are doing that.. would have been much cleaner with the polished seconds hand..

Choose what you like. You're the one that has to wear it. Not the 100 etc. people that reply with 100 different answers

DON

@DON : I like both! but don't have the budget for both! 😅

The Radiomir for me but as I’ve told others on this forum, I too have a flat 6.5” wrist and the classic 44mm luminor was the best for me. You’ll hear tons of similar stories of guys with Same wrist size and this size case. So my advice is to not discount the classic 44mm Luminor case unless you have tried it on already and decided you don’t like it! It’s your wrist and your watch so do as you please

@Jonathan T : Another Radiomir vote!

On the watch bodies, the Radiomir looks way better, but it's still only 42mm. If my Radiomir was 47mm rather than 44mm I would prefer it, but I am ok with 44mm, I couldn't buy less than 44mm unless I was rich enough not to care if I was soon unhappy at the size.

@Stephen2020 : I'm taking this as a vote for the Radiomir...

I totally agree with this - try out the range! I have a just under 7" flat wrist that easily wears a Speedmaster. I tore myself up on size for about 3 months until I finally tried the 44mm Luminor on my wrist ( several times I might add) and now I'm a complete fan! It dominates my wrist time. It's a big watch with a lot of presence, but I have no worries that it is too big. I just don't care.

From my experience, I've come to one big conclusion: Size is BS.

Aside from the "too small to read it" or "So big the straps don't wrap around your wrist but are like a hang glider" , size is just up to you. Consider trying the 44mm., like Jonathan T suggested. Take a picture of it from a few feet away. Make sure the strap is relatively tight for the photo, as any watch can appear to "overhang" if part of it is drifting to one side of the wrist. Think standing in front of the mirror with your arm up near the opposite shoulder. Do the same with your Radiomir and the new 40mm. If you like the way any of them look, best, all else is nonsense. The picture you posted is just too close to be useful to you or to anyone else.

Everybody posts "wear what you like" but I didn't listen - nobody does - but it really is the best advice. No Panerai purist or small watch enthusiasts is going to be hanging out with you in the morning when you pop the watch on your own wrist.

FWIW: I like Panerai because they are unapologetically zigging while the world is zagging. In my limited experience, I tend to think that much of the watch market has been traumatized by the success of Submariners, Speedmasters and Calatravas - so they just make copies. It's all so boring, for the most part. Panerai and a some notable others have a different style ethos. Panerai's cool - they are doing something different that makes sense to me : prizing durability, legibility, and a style DNA that is simultaneously grounded in their history but not stagnant. The watches are weirdly comfortable and the strap-monster effect makes the watch so much more of a hobby than just a single purchase. You've made a great choice of a brand. Good Luck on your watch selection of a watch.

@WatchThinker : I'm with you on the "Size is BS", I had a Bathyscaphe 43mm until recently, but as I mentioned above, weight is also my issue, all the watches I currently own that's above 41mm are titanium (EZM 9, Pelagos and previously the Bathyscaphe), had a Sinn UX (44mm) but damned the weight really killed it for me!

Get the 40mil if you have a small wrist, and definetly try them on first, as on the wrist different models wear very differently.

I have 47mil Rads with wire lugs that wear much smaller as the L2L is less, and lug overhang is the real killer IMO.

@bigclive2011 : Quaranta vote! I'm not sure of all the 47mm Radiomirs, but the ones i've tried were pretty bulky..

I too have a rather flat 6.5” wrist and own both a 1940 Radiomir 42mm PAM 574 as well as a very recently acquired Luminor 44mm PAM 914.

The lugs of my 574 are easily contained within my wrist bones and is a very comfortable fit. I’ve been wearing my 574 for the past couple of days in rotation. As you can see the case design of the 1940 Radiomir series is thinner than the Luminor.

Here are a couple of pictures of my 914 that I took last week. The lugs are just barely contained within the confines of my wrist and any perception to the contrary is the result of parallax error. With a solid caseback my 914 is only 13.7mm in thickness and also wears comfortably on my wrist. From a technical standpoint my 574 is no doubt a better fit, but the Luminor is supposed to fit BIG.

My own personal preference is the 44mm Luminor over both the 40mm and the 42mm series. My 574 is a 3 days movement but recall it ran for over 90 hours with a full wind. My 914 has an 8 days movement but stopped running just slightly less than 5 hours shy of 11 days on a full wind!

@5959HH : Really nice to hear about the power reserve! I'm assuming they leave some room for error, probably they can guarantee the time keeping for the stated reserve, but after that is not within their spec?
Also, taking your post as a vote for the 574, as mentioned above, really want something less "BIG".

From what I have heard, they all run for well over the stated time, which is great. My 3 day movement was 4 3/4 days the one time I checked.

@Stephen2020 : really good to hear this, was worried about unscrewing/winding the crown on the 574

I think Panerai sizing really comes down to trying them on. I have the same size wrist as you, and recently went to the boutique thinking I was going to come out with the 1272. Was also looking at the 1392. I really liked both on the wrist, but the sales person suggested putting one on each wrist and looking in a floor length mirror. That's what made me realize that the presence of the slightly larger 1392 was what I wanted, and just felt more Panerai.

@buggravy : Thanks for the input, will give it a try, since the 574 is also 42mm, but I'll be putting my foot down in case it's the non-hacking movement!

Pics, not sure of references though:

 

Choose what you like. You're the one that has to wear it. Not the 100 etc. people that reply with 100 different answers

DON

 

The Radiomir for me but as I’ve told others on this forum, I too have a flat 6.5” wrist and the classic 44mm luminor was the best for me. You’ll hear tons of similar stories of guys with Same wrist size and this size case. So my advice is to not discount the classic 44mm Luminor case unless you have tried it on already and decided you don’t like it! It’s your wrist and your watch so do as you please

 

I totally agree with this - try out the range! I have a just under 7" flat wrist that easily wears a Speedmaster. I tore myself up on size for about 3 months until I finally tried the 44mm Luminor on my wrist ( several times I might add) and now I'm a complete fan! It dominates my wrist time. It's a big watch with a lot of presence, but I have no worries that it is too big. I just don't care.

From my experience, I've come to one big conclusion: Size is BS.

Aside from the "too small to read it" or "So big the straps don't wrap around your wrist but are like a hang glider" , size is just up to you. Consider trying the 44mm., like Jonathan T suggested. Take a picture of it from a few feet away. Make sure the strap is relatively tight for the photo, as any watch can appear to "overhang" if part of it is drifting to one side of the wrist. Think standing in front of the mirror with your arm up near the opposite shoulder. Do the same with your Radiomir and the new 40mm. If you like the way any of them look, best, all else is nonsense. The picture you posted is just too close to be useful to you or to anyone else.

Everybody posts "wear what you like" but I didn't listen - nobody does - but it really is the best advice. No Panerai purist or small watch enthusiasts is going to be hanging out with you in the morning when you pop the watch on your own wrist.

FWIW: I like Panerai because they are unapologetically zigging while the world is zagging. In my limited experience, I tend to think that much of the watch market has been traumatized by the success of Submariners, Speedmasters, and Calatravas - so they just make copies. It's all so boring, for the most part. Panerai and a some notable others have a different style ethos. Panerai's cool - they are doing something different that makes sense to me : prizing durability, legibility, and a style DNA that is simultaneously grounded in their history but not stagnant. The watches are weirdly comfortable and the strap-monster effect makes the watch so much more of a hobby than just a single purchase. You've made a great choice of a brand. Good Luck on your watch selection.

 

On the watch bodies, the Radiomir looks way better, but it's still only 42mm. If my Radiomir was 47mm rather than 44mm I would prefer it, but I am ok with 44mm, I couldn't buy less than 44mm unless I was rich enough not to care if I was soon unhappy at the size.

 

Get the 40mil if you have a small wrist, and definetly try them on first, as on the wrist different models wear very differently.

I have 47mil Rads with wire lugs that wear much smaller as the L2L is less, and lug overhang is the real killer IMO.

 

and lug overhang is the real killer IMO

100% this. Dial/case size is largely moot for me compared to at times, incredibly difficult to get from most mfrs lug width. The 44mm Luminor is my limit with a 53mm lug width.

 

I too have a rather flat 6.5” wrist and own both a 1940 Radiomir 42mm PAM 574 as well as a very recently acquired Luminor 44mm PAM 914.

The lugs of my 574 are easily contained within my wrist bones and is a very comfortable fit. I’ve been wearing my 574 for the past couple of days in rotation. As you can see the case design of the 1940 Radiomir series is thinner than the Luminor.

Here are a couple of pictures of my 914 that I took last week. The lugs are just barely contained within the confines of my wrist and any perception to the contrary is the result of parallax error. With a solid caseback my 914 is only 13.7mm in thickness and also wears comfortably on my wrist. From a technical standpoint my 574 is no doubt a better fit, but the Luminor is supposed to fit BIG.

My own personal preference is the 44mm Luminor over both the 40mm and the 42mm series. My 574 is a 3 days movement but recall it ran for over 90 hours with a full wind. My 914 has an 8 days movement but stopped running just slightly less than 5 hours shy of 11 days on a full wind!

 

From what I have heard, they all run for well over the stated time, which is great. My 3 day movement was 4 3/4 days the one time I checked.

 

I think Panerai sizing really comes down to trying them on. I have the same size wrist as you, and recently went to the boutique thinking I was going to come out with the 1272. Was also looking at the 1392. I really liked both on the wrist, but the sales person suggested putting one on each wrist and looking in a floor length mirror. That's what made me realize that the presence of the slightly larger 1392 was what I wanted, and just felt more Panerai.

 

@berserkkw the main thought I would leave with you is to buy what YOU like as the rest of us are just filtering information here that reflect our own personal preferences/bias. In my case I don't particularly like the 40mm and 42mm Luminor's as I don't like the way they balance on my wrist and to me seem top heavy. Plus if I were to tire of one down the line, they are much less popular than the 44m Luminor's and possibly more difficult to move.

At one time I owned a PAM 190 Radiomir but found that I came to dislike the wire lugs, particularly when changing straps. I also owned a PAM 111 Luminor with the Unitas 6497 movement and exhibition back. As I recall the 111 was 15mm thick whereas the PAM 914 with solid caseback is only 13.7mm thick. Honestly said I notice very little difference in wearability between my 574 and 914. Just me though and not necessarily you.

To me the perfect Luminor is 44mm, has a solid caseback, black dial, 300m water resistance and manual winding movement. The 915 has small seconds at the 9:00 position and is a worthwhile addition IMHO but with a less clean look than the 914. BTW both the 574 and 914 (and 915) movements do hack.

Anyhow just a few of my rambling perceptions which might or might not be helpful to you.

 

I hear all those concenrs and they are completely valid. Be sure to let us know when you end up with

 

I have a 7.5” wrist and although I can wear larger I prefer the 40mm luminor. It’s more versatile. That’s why I bought it!

 

Went yesterday to the AD to try on some PAM's... The sales rep wasn't too sure of the reference numbers, neither was I, so sorry again:

42mm Radiomir 1940:

44mm Luminor 1950:

My friend went with me, and he let me try on his 47mm Radiomir:

 

I used to have a white homage, the design is nice, mine was 40mm, probably why I sold it after not too long? Before I bought my Black Seal I almost bought a white Panerai but me and the seller were a bit too far apart on the price and when i'd got more money he'd stopped listing it, so I nearly had one.
Nice to see there are still 47mm's around.

 

So went to the Panerai Boutique yesterday, unfortunately the 574 is sold out here, and even in Dubai it's not available..

Here are pics and some thoughts on some of the pieces I saw and tried on:

First got to see the Quaranta 1272.. It felt downright tiny! didn't like it on wrist, felt it's smaller than the advertised size. The bezel also seems to either overhang or go up right to the edge of the case, you can run your fingertips on the edges and feel it. Also, the movement doesn't hack! WTF!

Although the 574 is sold out, they do have the 512.. Also not thrilled due to the non-hacking movement.. but the 620 is available! That would probably be my fallback position..

After that, went to the grey market dealers...

This is where i'm in a bind now, one of them has a NIB PAM01144 asking for less than list price, this is the 574 but with blue dial and fauxtina lume:

Another dealer had some 45mm Radiomirs, which i will admit, feel great on wrist, but honestly not thrilled with the idea of changing straps with these wired lugs..

In the end, the Quaranta is now out of the running.. What i'm left with is either the 620 or the 1144..

If anyone has any thoughts on these final two, please share them, as i'm now totally out of ideas..

 

for an everyday watch. the 42mm Radiomir seems to fit your wrist better.
sure you could wear the 44 Luminor or 45mm Radiomir with wire lugs. but you might feel tired after wearing them a whole day.

 

What kind of caseback quaranta has? 1. Screw down 2 driven i.e. bayonet style or 3. snap off?

 

I'm not sure? It could be snap on case back.. if I see it again I'll try to check it

 

Decision was made.. it was neither of the ones in the poll 😅

Got the PAM620:

Thanks everyone for the input and thoughts!

 

Very nice! Looks like a nice canvas strap too?

 

Thank you!

Actually it's a cordura/silicone strap from Barton Bands, very nice and comfortable in my opinion.

 

Very nice choice. A very classy, classic watch with a design that will never age.

 

Thank you so much John!

 

This piece is fantastic! I have 112G and will never get rid of it but one day I want to add this piece. Fantastic size and personality.