Panerai Luminor Marina PAM00001 Pre-A B&P 1997

Panerai Luminor Marina PAM00001, Pre-A Pre-Vendome, Tritium dial
Serial: BB970401 / L.E. 0401/1000
Circa: 1997
Reference No.: PAM0001 / OP6500

CASE: 44mm Stainless Steel, solid screw back, crown guard

DIAL: Black dial with tritium hour markers and subsidiary seconds at 9 o’clock

MOVEMENT: Caliber OP I, manual wind, 17 jewels

BRACELET: Leather and steel Panerai buckle

CONDITION REPORT: Mint overall condition. The dial is perfect and the tritium luminous material is intact with nice aging to a cream color patina. The hands are original and the tritium is intact. The case is in good overall condition with previous signs of wear.

NOTES: This watch comes with a Panerai box and its original papers, warranty card, COSC certificate as well as the original stock envelope sticker from the factory. It also comes with a series of aftermarket custom leather straps.
This is the earliest example we've been able to find to date of this rare reference. We have seen that the limited numbering begins after 400, so 401 would actually be number 1 in this series. According to scholarship online, following Vendôme’s (Richemont) acquisition of Officine Panerai in early 1998, the brand debuted at SIHH the same year and introduced its A and B Series models (001, 002, 003, 004, 009, 010). However, before their official launch, Panerai released three limited series to gauge market interest and generate media buzz, primarily selling them in Italy and Europe.
These early models, known as the “Pre-A Series,” preceded the 1998 A Series Luminor and Luminor Marina watches. They featured Pre-Vendôme style T-SWISS-T dials, similar in shape to the Pre-V models but distinct from later A Series dials, which were mass-produced and continue to influence modern Panerai designs.
The first batch of Luminor Marina still had Italian made cases before production of Panerai watches became entirely Swiss.
Production numbers were limited, with approximately 1,000 Pre-A Luminor and Luminor Marina models planned. Among them, nearly 400 Mare Nostrum OP 6501 pieces were made during the OP 6500 case production. There is speculation that 398 unsold Mare Nostrum watches remained in storage. After their production, the numbering resumed with the OP 6502 case reference for the remaining Luminor and Luminor Marina models.
In total, around 1,700 Pre-A watches were produced, including the Mare Nostrum. The exact distribution of each model (001, 002, 003, 004, 009, 010) remains uncertain.

SOLD