I too have a smallish wrist and years ago, I chose the 40mm automatic Luminor and have loved it ever since. Recently, I finally decided to send the watch off to Panerai for service. Knowing that would take weeks and weeks, I decided to use this opportunity to buy another Panerai. I decided on a 44mm and tried the 112 and the 176 in Titanium. I decided the 176 was more to my liking as the titaniums are all brushed like my steel PAM 70. I'm not as much into the shiny watches. However, at the end of the day after buying the 176 and bringing it home, I knew I didn't like it as much as my 40mm. As they say, it "didn't sing to me." So I took it back.
So now I have a PAM 48 heading my way and will have two 40mm's. And I'm really excited about it because for me, that's what fits. One is a blue dial PAM 70 and the other is the black dial PAM 48. It's the real deal Panerai and as long as one is happy with it, nothing else really matters.