Considered one of the most successful releases in the history of modern Panerai watches, the super-exclusive ‘PAM 203’ is one of the undoubted “grails” for Panerai collectors. It is said that the President of Panerai himself personally selected the fortunate collectors that were offered the opportunity to purchase this special timepiece. Naturally, as one of the world’s foremost collectors, the owner of the ‘Champion Collection’ was one of these lucky few. Released in 2005 in a limited edition of 150 watches as a tribute to the original 1950 Luminor 8-day power-reserve model, it features an 8-day Angelus 240 movement that was especially refurbished for the edition. Offering tremendous vintage appeal, the case and dial stylistically mirrors the original 1950s Luminor watches, the dial is inscribed “8 Giorni Brevettato”. The present example, number 135 of the edition, is offered in superb condition and comes complete with the full set of box, papers and accessories.

Panerai spent two years refurbishing and upgrading the old Angelus caliber 240 movements in preparation for production of the PAM 203. These movements, originally intended for small 8-day clocks, were completely restored and partially remade by the highly skilled technicians at Panerai, with every component dismantled, checked and then carefully reassembled, new components being made where necessary. The original Angelus Calibre 240 as used by G. Panerai e Figlio in the 1950s and 60s was to power watches supplied by Paneraito commandos of the Royal Italian Navy. The functions offered were extremely simple: hour, minutes and small seconds, with a power-reserve of eight days - the bare essentials of a military diver's watch.
A ‘must have’ watch for the serious Panerai collector, the present watch could not be bettered in terms of its impeccable provenance, condition and completeness.