The balance, which is held in place by a very sturdy looking bridge, looks a little small for the movement but then again, that’s probably only because the movement’s so large; at 15 3/4 lignes, or just about 35.7 mm, it’s a pocket – watch rather than a wristwatch caliber (unless you’re in the bigger-than-average-wristwatch business, which Panerai manifestly is). Overall, we think it’s an impressive bit of work – we’ve used the word sturdy and sturdiness is very much the takeaway impression one has of the P.5000. Interestingly enough, incidentally, the P.5000 has a free-sprung, adjustable mass balance, which is a very nice touch, especially at this price point – if you look carefully at what looks like the regulator you’ll see that it’s actually not a regulator, but a stud carrier (that is, the carrier for the stud to which the outer terminal of the balance spring is attached). The screws holding the balance bridge in place run through threaded collars on the bridge and can be used to adjust end-shake (the amount of vertical “play” between the tips of the balance staff and the endstones of the shock-jewel assembly. While the movement doesn’t have the overtly spectacular cosmetics of some other in-house movements, its clean, no-nonsense appearance is much more appropriate than if Panerai had dressed it up with perfunctory Geneva stripes (and perfunctory is pretty much the only kind of Geneva stripes you get at this price).
A Week On The Wrist The Panerai PAM 560 Luminor 8 Days Acciaio
