THE 312 HAS LANDED!!!

Just picked her up today...first we'll let the pictures do the talking. Note that I swapped out the black croc strap with an MX:















When I first saw pictures of the 312, like many of you - it was love at first sight. I felt like this was "the one", the perfect application of all things Panerai into one package. But a cloud of doubt was raised when I learned of how thick it was. It's 18.15 thick, versus 17.75 on the 233 and 16.75 on the 176, 112, 005, etc. I struggled to find pictures that could tell the story more clearly, but alas there were none to be had. So I went from having no doubt that this was "the one" to having some serious doubts that it was going to work for me. My doubts compounded when I tried on the Deepsea this past weekend and was convinced that at 17.68, it was just a bit too thick for my 7 inch wrist.

Flash forward to this afternoon...at first glance at the 312, all those concerns disappeared. I don't know how they did it, but the thickness is nicely proportioned and absorbed well into the body of the watch. It just works. I still can't figure out how the Deepsea didn't quite do it for me and yet this does it so beautifully. I can tell you with absolute certainty that however great the 312 looks in pictures, it's WAY better in real life.

You must forgive the following three pictures of the 312 next to a 233. My cell phone was working horribly, but you can sort of make a comparison...but for the obvious differences, I thought they were very similar in sensibility and overall feel: