Luxury brands may sit comfortably at the top of the heap but one reason they are there in the first place, is that they are never idle. This SIHH, it’s also raining Panerais. Observes REVOLUTION UK’s Ken Kessler, a slew of GMT models have been shown, while the technical range is well represented by the skeletonised model that is “out of this world”, with numerals that appear to float on the dial. Panerai has also revived some ’90s models: Panerai believes it’s time to revisit the white dial variant of a century before.
Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanio – 47mm
Named “The Scientist” in honour of Galileo Galilei, extreme skeletonisation is showcased here, and the watch is made even lighter with the use of titanium in the case, and for the first time, the movement. As a result, the 47mm titanium case is 40 per cent lighter than if it had been made of steel, and the P.2005/T calibre is 35 per cent lighter than the conventional variant of the same skeletonised movement. For the case to be hollowed out internally, it was made using a technology that sounds much like 3D printing: Direct Metal Sintering, which uses a fibre optic laser to build an object layer by layer (each 0.02mm thick) with powdered titanium.
47mm brushed titanium case, water resistant to 100m. Manual-wind movement with 30-second perpendicular tourbillon, second time zone, day/night indicator and 144-hour power reserve indicated at the back. Limited to 150 pieces.
Luminor 8 Days Set – 44mm
Luminor Black Seal
Luminor Daylight
A bundle that harks back to the years 1993-97, between Panerai’s first watch collection released to the public, and the company’s acquisition by Richemont. Production numbers during this period were low, hence the watches are heavily sought-after by collectors. This set comprises two models originally created for Sylvester Stallone in 1996: the Luminor Black Seal, for the first time in a left-handed version; and the Luminor Daylight with an extremely rare and very striking white dial. Limited to 500 sets.
Luminor Black Seal: Manual-wind P.5000 with 192-hour power reserve. 44mm steel case with hard black coating, water resistant to 300m.
Luminor Daylight: Manual-wind P.5000 with 192-hour power reserve. 44mm polished steel case, water resistant to 300m.
Special Edition Radiomir and Luminor – 47mm
Radiomir 1940
Luminor 1950
While less technical than the complication models, time-only Panerais hold a special place for communicating the manufacture’s history, ideals and beauty with the greatest clarity. Here, special editions of the Radiomir and Luminor enthral with dials in brown, in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces each.
Radiomir 1940: Manual-wind P.3000 with 72-hour power reserve. 47mm polished steel case, water resistant to 100m.
Luminor 1950: Manual-wind P.3000 with 72-hour power reserve. 47mm polished steel case, water resistant to 100m.
Radiomir 1940 GMT Collection – 45mm
Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Automatic
Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Power Reserve Automatic
Two new manufacture movements have been added to Panerai’s repertoire, resulting in travel-friendly GMT models with power reserve indicator either dial-side or on the back, independent setting of local time in one-hour increments, for time-setting accuracy, the seconds hand resets to zero when the crown is pulled.
Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Automatic: Self-winding P.4001 with second time zone, 24h indicator, seconds reset and 72-hour power reserve with indicator on the back. 45mm polished steel case, water resistant to 100m.
Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Power Reserve Automatic: Self-winding P.4002 with second time zone, 24h indicator, seconds reset and 72-hour power reserve with indicator. 45mm polished steel case, water resistant to 100m.
Radiomir 1940 Automatic
Plain vanilla doesn’t often look this good; while it is short on complications and isn’t a ‘special edition’, it is no less striking, the first in the 1940 Radiomir collection to get a white dial. It’s also smaller and slimmer than the other models feature here.
Self-winding P.4000 with 3-day power reserve. 42mm polished steel case, water resistant to 100m.
