The Good Life

An Ode To The East

  Officine Panerai's new timepieces are a tribute to India and the Middle East

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Published 6 years ago on Apr 27, 2018 3 minutes Read
Luminor Marina

Known for its unique blend of Italian design flair and Swiss horological expertise, Officine Panerai, in a form of tribute to India and the Middle East launched two new Luminor Marina timepieces, exclusively for these regions. 

Founded in Florence in 1860 as a workshop, shop and school of watchmaking, for many decades Officine Panerai supplied the Italian Navy in general, and its specialist diving corps in particular, with precision instruments. The Luminor Marina was the first great success in the history of the Panerai brand. In the 1990s, after decades of creations carried out for the Italian Navy, the Luminor with the small seconds dial at 9 o’clock was one of the models which contributed so much to making the Panerai brand known throughout the world, with its watches becoming an icon of contemporary high quality sports watchmaking.

Special editions
The first of the two new Special Edition watches is the Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic Titanio (PAM00734), created in a limited edition of 100 units and featuring a sand dial, a colour reminiscent of the golden Arabian Desert. The second Special Edition (PAM00733) is produced in a limited edition of 50 units and features a dial of a brilliant and intense blue, a colour reminiscent of Panerai’s passion for the sea. Both versions have the date at 3 o’clock and the small seconds dial at 9 o’clock on a classic Panerai dial of minimal design, its large figures being perfectly legible even in the dark thanks to the sandwich structure of the dial. This dial creates a contrast of sophisticated elegance with the gilded hands and the titanium of which the Luminor 1950 case, 44 mm in diameter, is made.

Crowning glory
The winding crown is protected by the iconic bridge device, which protects it from accidental shocks and helps to ensure the watch’s water-resistance of 30 bar (a depth of about 300 metres). The back of the case has a sapphire crystal porthole enabling the movement of the automatic P.9000 calibre, completely created by the Panerai Manufacture in Neuchâtel, to be seen. This movement has a power reserve of three days and is constantly wound by a bidirectional oscillating weigh. It has two other very useful functions: the mechanism for stopping the balance wheel when synchronizing the watch, and the device for rapidly adjusting the time by moving the hour hand backwards or forwards  in one-hour jumps, without interfering with the running of the watch.

Making a case
The case of the new Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic Titanio goes perfectly with the titanium bracelet, which is light and comfortable thanks to its structure of asymmetric links with double curved surfaces. The titanium links are brushed, but the surfaces of the points of contact have a contrasting polished finish. The watch is supplied with a second strap, coordinated with the colour of the dial: blue alligator leather for PAM00734 or beige textile for PAM00733.