Panerai Luminor Marina PAM 70 Luxury Watch Review

THIS WATCH IS FOR SALE: http://www.thewatchbox.com/watches/panerai Officine Panerai rarely does color, but the Italian-inspired luxury watchmaker raises eyebrows with an occasional exception; enter the Panerai Luminor Marina PAM 70. The combination of a brushed 40mm steel case, stunning grained metallic blue dial, and black alligator leather strap sets this Panerai Luminor apart from the crescent-crown crowd from Firenze. Everything about the Panerai Luminor Marina PAM 70 reflects a nuanced execution of the traditional "Betterini" case Luminor. Whereas that watch typically sports a 44mm case, the PAM 70 tackles the opposition from Rolex head-on with a compact 40mm case in discreet brushed stainless steel. The elegant understatement of that combination is compounded by Panerai's choice of a rich black alligator leather strap and a deluxe twin-trigger double deployant strap. Panerai's de rigueur fitment is a calf or rubber strap with a pin buckle, so even the accessories of the PAM 70 are a cut above standard-issue. And speaking of "standard issue," the modern Officine Panerai has found a triumphant balance between its combat-driven origins and its latter-day identity as a luxury standard. The classical "no-nonsense" legibility of the old Italian Navy tactical watches lives in this PAM 70, but the color palette keeps apace with modern Italian high-style. Simply put, the vertically brushed metallic blue dial of this Luminor Marina PAM 70 is the star of the show. It pops, i