Why fix it if it ain’t bankrupt? Is most likely the best method to describe the crucial design of Officine Panerai watches. Panerai has achieved iconic status in the opinion world as a result of its star models, the Radiomir and Luminor. These two watches, designed in the previous century, still attract watch fans using their virile measurements and what can simply be described as an inbred Italian flair for pure, unadulterated layout.
Panerai would be a leading military secret for a long time and didn’t come to light prior to the early 1990s. The Italian watch brand, based in Florence in 1860, forged its waiting in the first half of the 20th century by offering the Italian Navy with strong, luminous instruments that would evolve into a waterproof watch made designed for a elite commando of frogmen within their underwater stealth missions. The very first Panerai Radiomir watches were trial-run by the underwater human torpedoes in 1936, shining at nighttime thanks to the radium paste improved as Radiomir by Panerai. The Luminor watch, with its crown-protecting bridge using a lever, followed in 1950 and supported the brand’s vocation for a maker of specialist dive watches.
Read about the history of Panerai watches
The remarkable thing is that looking at archival photographs of these two versions it is possible to see the genesis of more or less all Panerai watches. The three brand new Panerai Radiomir watches introduced earlier this month are no exception, at least on the design front, using their trademark cushion-shaped cases and minimalist temperaments. The Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic Titanio watch has been given a lightweight 45mm titanium case and can be powered through an in-house Panerai calibre – P.4000 – with a decentralised micro-rotor that winds in both directions, enabling it to gather a power reserve of 3 days. The hot brown dial, made with the feature sandwich structure created by Panerai from the 1930s for exceptional luminosity, features four Arabic numerals and indices which were treated using a distinctive ecru coloured SuperLumiNova, which provides the dial a wonderful vintage touch.
The new 45mm steel Radiomir Black Seal 8 Days Acciaio watch as well as also the Radiomir 8 Days Acciaio are closer in picture for their forebear, with soldered lugs and all the genetic traits of their heritage. What is new this is actually the incorporation of a hand-wound motion produced by Panerai – P.5000 – with an impressive eight-day electricity book. The Black Seal model, having a tiny seconds counter at 9 o’clock (generally restricted to Luminor versions ), pays homage to the”Gamma Group” frogmen whose daring underwater assignments wreak havoc on Allied battleships. Equipped with the hand-wound P.5000 calibre through an eight-day power book, the new Luminor watch features an engraving from the famous Italian frogmen straddled on a submersible torpedo.
