The first 2 pieces I want to highlight from the Panerai SIHH 2013 collection are what I believe to be the most important for this year - the PAM510 (stainless steel) & PAM511 (red gold).

The PAM510 is a 44mm Luminor in stainless steel housing the new in-house P.5000 manual wind 8-day movement.  It's basically the same thing as the basic PAM111 with the only differences being the movement & "8 Days" printing on the dial.  The case is fully polished but the crown guard is brushed as well as the buckle. 

Retail pricing on the PAM510 is $7,300 and slated to come out in September. 

The PAM510 has the typical Panerai sandwich dial and makes a perfect entry level Panerai for the watch collector looking to test the waters with his 1st Panerai.   

It is my belief that Panerai will eventually phase out all the Unitas movements models and turn those models into P.5000 movement variants.  Will that make these Unitas Panerai's more collectible?  I really don't think so because there are so many produced already, so I doubt it will have any significant effect on value or collectability.  Maybe in 30 years from now, but in the near and intermediate future, I don't think it will.

Below is a picture of the new in-house P.5000 movement. 

 
Not a bad view view eh?

One thing I want to point out is the P.5000 has no quick reset seconds hand feature like that of the P.2000 movement.  I guess with the entry level model, you can't expect to get it all.  I'm also pleased that Panerai made this a 8-day power reserve instead of 3-days like in the P.3000 movement.  8-days power reserve matches well with Panerai's history

The PAM111 retails at $6,800 so you only have to pay $500 more to get the PAM510 w/ P.5000 movement.  I would've expected a larger price gap differential but $500 more is extremely reasonable IMO.

Below is a video of the PAM510, so you can see it in the flesh in real-life lighting conditions.

Now on to the PAM511 which is the same exact watch but in red gold instead of stainless steel.  Panerai's red gold is a very beautiful color and more "red" than your basic rose gold watch. 

This PAM511 is very elegant and retails at $26,500.  Unlike the PAM510, the PAM511 case is fully polished including the crown guard.

And below is a video of the PAM511.

Will see more P.5000 watches at SIHH 2014?  Most definitely if you ask me.  I don't think we'll see an automatic version of the P.5000 next year but rather at SIHH 2015. 

Technically, the PAM510 and PAM511 weren't supposed to be shown to the press at SIHH 2013.  It was only shown to the retailers.  That's why it wasn't in the SIHH 2013 press kits.  My guess is Panerai wanted to keep it under the radar probably for market timing reasons to coordinate launch with its marketing campaigns.  In any case, the secret is out of the bag and now we know we can expect more P.5000 watches next year.

Cheers,
Anthony