Last April whilst away in the motorhome we were mooching around either Berwick or Durham, I forget which, when we came across a branch of Ramsdens. In the window was a Pam 658 Radiomir 1940 GMT. Wife says “ that’s a lovely looking watch”. Normally doesn’t comment. I did nothing about it and we carried on.

I keep going back to the website and it’s still there nearly 12 months on, still at £5699 reduced from £5999. Makes me think it’s too expensive or there’s something wrong with it.

I am on the list for a Rolex GMT which I believe I’ve a better chance of getting a unicorn first so am looking elsewhere.

Having done a load more looking and researching I’ve discovered there are several variations of the theme. Pam 627 and 628 with Clous de Paris hob nail finish dials whilst 657 and 658 have Vertical Stripes finish. Odd number variant has a power reserve complication on the back of the movement, even number it’s on the dial. I can’t make my mind up on if I like the additional clutter in full view or not.

In Watchfinders recent sale they had a few examples at 35% off bringing them to around £4500 of their normal selling price for a 2020 model. I believe these were over £10k new at rrp. That’s a big chunk of depreciation.

Then there’s the 945 with its blue sandwich dial. Which on the net looks really pretty.

I looked at the Luminor 1361 Bi Tempo last summer but I didn’t want to spend thick end of £9k on it.

Panerai is not completely new to me, I do own a Radiomir 609, although I don’t actually wear it very often.

So where I am up to. I’ve never tried one on or handled one in the metal. I do like the 1940 case shape more than a Luminor. I like the 12 hour GMT function and I can hide the GMT hand behind the hour hand if I want. I also like the second hand resets to 12 o’clock position when hacking.

Should I be worried about the poor residual value if I buy one and don’t actually bond with it? Is the in-house movement any good? Is it wrong to worry about the example at Ramsdens still being on sale 11 months on?

Interested to hear opinions of owners or enthusiasts that are better clued up than I am. Thanks