Fake Panerai 44.00 mm Watch, Copy Panerai 44.00 mm Watch

Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT Palm Beach Boutique (PAM00481)

Beautiful Panerai watch, fantastic price, great transaction !

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Jonnell S, From Italy L'aquila

Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic Oro Rosso 42mm (PAM00393)

This fine watch is so bold and elegant

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by NANCY CONTRERAS, From USA West Long Branch

Panerai Ferrari Granturismo GMT (FER00003)

This Paneraiwatch is so cute .....in person much cuter. It's very sparkly. The face part has like a sliver sparkle tone to it. Very comfortable to wear and it's light. The face is perfect not to big but not to small.

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Kelly Joswiak, From Gb Dorking

As well as providing exceptional technical performance, carbotech has an uneven, matt black appearance, which varies according the cutting of the material: the result is that each watch is truly unique. 
 

The structure of carbotech is designed to enhance both the aesthetics and the performance of the material, which is used to make the case, the rotating bezel and the lever bridge which protects the winding crown.

The dial of the new Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech™ is black with applied hour markers, the date window is at three o'clock and the small seconds counter adorned with Panerai blue details is at nine o'clock. The screw-in caseback is made of titanium with black treatment. The P.9000 automatic calibre beats at the heart of the watch. It is water-resistant to 300 metres. 

The new Luminor Submersible 1950 CarbotechTM is fitted with a black rubber strap, personalised for the first time by the OP logo in Panerai blue, and it is supplied with a spare strap and a screwdriver.

French Paneristi don't have to wait till Christmas for a special treat. Artcurial is organising a "Panerai Only" auction entirely dedicated to the Italian brand on December 8^th in its Parisian headquarters on the Rond-Point des Champs-Elysees. A hundred pieces dating from the 1930s to the present day will be going under the auctioneer's hammer, to the delight of collectors who are sure to compete fiercely for several historical lots or for more recent models produced in limited editions as the brand loves to do, and equally coveted. Among the watches on offer, 15 are from the same private collection.

To underscore the importance of this sale and the enthusiasm generated by the brand among aficionados, the watches to be auctioned in Paris were on show in two prior exhibitions - one in Geneva on November 6^th and the other in Milan from November 19^th to 23^rd.

The sales catalogue comprises three sequences. The vintage watches date from 1930 to 1950, the period when Panerai was official supplier of diving instruments and watches for the Italian navy and did not produce timepieces for the general public. "Pre-Vendôme" models comprise the first Panerai watches intended for the public market, launched in 1993, and those produced until the brand was bought up in 1997 by the Vendôme group (which was itself subsequently absorbed by the Richemont group). And finally, the "Vendôme" period which includes timepieces that have come on the market since 1997 and through to the present day.
 

The vintage historical models include a 1940 ref. 3646 Radiomir that is exceptionally rare. This cushion-shaped 46 mm steel wristwatch features a black 'sandwich' dial with luminescent hour-markers and Arabic numerals, and a mechanical Rolex movement. It is estimated at between 80,000 and 120,000 euros.
A ref. 6152 Marina Militare dating from the same year has the now famous crown guard specially designed at the time to meet the requirements of Italian navy combat frogmen. Valued at between 85,000 and 150,000 euros, it is supplied in its presentation box complete with a Panerai compass. In 1956 the Egyptian navy placed an order for a Panerai diver's watch, resulting in the Radiomir Egiziano, a giant 60 mm model and the first diver's watch to boast an 8-day power reserve and a shotblasted rotating bezel. On auction for the first time, ref. GPF 2/56 is estimated at between 100,000 and 150,000 euros.
 

In the "pre-Vendôme" section, a 44 mm Luminor Marina, produced around 1994 in a 200-piece limited edition and equipped with a hand-wound Unitas movement, will doubtless appeal to collectors - not only because of its rarity but also because it is one of the very first Panerai watches with a PVD case.

In 1993, Sylvester Stallone ordered a watch from Panerai and thereby played a key role in the brand's spectacular rise to public fame. The Luminor Submersible SlyTech Sylvester Stallone special edition that will be up for auction in Paris dates from about 1996 and was initially announced as a 200-piece limited edition, but only 95 were produced in the end. This collector's watch bearing the number 090/200 comes with a presentation box, two additional straps, a scale model of the Italian SLC torpedoes and an authentication letter from the Panerai quality control director! The buyer can expect to shell out between 40,000 and 50,000 euros to take this one home.

The most recent timepieces include around 20 Radiomir watches produced between 2009 and 2013, notably two featuring the Californian dial with Arabic and Roman numerals, a handsome Regatta chronograph (PAM00246 n° 1074/300) driven by a self-winding movement with split-second and jumping seconds functions, and a large 52 mm Mare Nostrum (PAM00300 n° M60/99) housing a Minerva column-wheel movement. Finally, the catalogue also includes several Luminor models: Chronograph, Submersible, Marina and Power Reserve.

But the truly original Christmas present for a die-hard Paneristi is the large black wooden box containing a watchmaker's lathe and tools (139 in all), built at Officine G. Panerai in Florence, and estimated at…. Shh, gifts are priceless!

More information
 
 
 

We are in Egypt, 600 years before Christ.
The Pharaoh's wise men have just developed a new instrument for reading the time. It is called the Merkhet. Its original construction allows it to read the time even after sunset. With this invention, man can start to tell the time even in the black of night. And this will allow him to improve the precision of time reading.

Nowadays this story seems outmoded or confined to archaeology books. There is light everywhere and the time can be read in any conditions. Even at night, the light shines…
But things have not always been so. Not so long ago, in fact, the ability to read the dial of a watch was of crucial importance. And, as is so often the case, it was war that created this need.

On the night of 20th December 1914, the French Farman MF 11 were the first bombers to fly at night. The ability to read flight instruments in complete darkness thus became a strategic priority.
From 1917, the American Defense Department decided to order luminescent watches from the US Radium Corporation, which used radium paint for the luminescence. History recalls above all the struggle of the "radium girls", who spent their days painting watch dials with radioactive substances, with the health effects that we can imagine.
But at the time, this production was strategic… and it remained so for a long time.

At the dawn of the second world war, such instruments that were readable at night were no longer needed just in the air. Night could also appear in the middle of the day - you just had to dive under water.
We now move to Italy, where a few men understood that underwater combat could offer a precious advantage in the case of conflict. They followed the example of two of their predecessors, Major Rossetti and Lieutenant Paolucci, who became the first combat swimmers in history, when they sunk an Austro-Hungarian cruiser in the port of Pola in November 1918.
Inspired by this feat, their comrades wanted to dive discreetly, swim towards their targets, destroy them and then disappear. They became the first combat swimmers of the 10th MAS flotilla.

In order to operate at night and underwater, the members of the MAS flotilla needed equipment that was both reliable yet innovative, including genuine diver's watches that were both water resistant and legible. And it was this latter aspect that needed the most work. One of the officers in the flotilla heard about a watch workshop in Florence. He visited it and met Guido Panerai. Together, they decided to develop a watch that would meet the requirements for future operations by the Italian swimmers.

Once again, radium was called to the rescue. Panerai developed a water resistant watch with two superimposed dials: one was hollowed out with large 12, 3, 6 and 9 numerals and the other was covered with radium. They were fitted into an oversized case that was 47mm in diameter and housed a Rolex movement.
The Radiomir was born.

This is where the story starts. Italy's combat divers started operations. Their exploits inspired navies all over the world. And they wore new versions of the Radiomir. By the end of the conflict, Panerai had produced just over a thousand watches, but this remained a military secret for years to come.

In order to keep its market share, the Florentine brand improved its Radiomir models and looked to other countries that called upon the services of former combat divers from Italy. But the technical specifications did not change: legibility and water resistance.
The dangerous radium was soon replaced by a new substance based on tritium: luminor. The water resistance of the newer diver's watches was also improved by a new crown protecting bridge, which is today affectionately known among fans as the "bottle opener".
But it is once again an aspect of light that gave the new watch its name: the Luminor.

Still today, the Luminor and Radiomir models dominate the Panerai catalogue. They are no longer military secrets but they still keep their unmistakable DNA, a mixture of industrial design, operational simplicity and Latin charm.

Luminor or Radiomir. The choice appears simple. Yet it is decidedly complicated. In the end, I opted for a Luminor that is particularly dear to my heart: the PAM 590. It is the link between the past and the present, bearing a seal that is famous in the brand's history, and was launched this year as a limited edition. It is the embodiment of what I think a true Panerai should be.

Why Panerai ?
The Luminor and Radiomir are the two emblematic models of the brand, which was relaunched in 1993 and incorporated into the Vendôme group in 1997 (which later became the Richemont Group). Officine Panerai has since experienced an astonishing rise to fame.

Even though its history is not as long as that of many of the famous Swiss brands, Officine Panerai has managed to exploit it in an almost unique way, using the techniques of Hollywood to build up its muscled up Radiomir and Luminor models in the style of the Expendables, order its collections like sequels or even prequels and grab the attention of an appreciative and particularly expert audience by developing its models in very small steps.

The brand has not only imposed its unique style, it has also liberated wrists by daring to offer 44mm diameter cases from the start of the 1990s, then relaunching the original 47mm cases at a time when 39mm was the norm.

Furthermore, Officine Panerai probably invented the concept of special editions and still today manages to generate both excitement and frustration among fans and yet still be forgiven! Although the concept is now found in overabundance among its competitors, whose initiatives are not always successful, the Officine can delve into its history - and the abundance of prototypes and variants in its production - to surprise and constantly nurture the legend.

The Panerai Luminor PAM 590: From the US with love!

The first version of the Luminor dates back to 1950. At the time, this diver's watch had a diameter of 47mm and a case that was rounder than that of the current 44mm Luminor models. In order to highlight the difference, a few years ago Panerai produced a version similar to the original model: the PAM 372.

But let's get back to our contemporary Luminor. It means a lot in the recent history of the Officine, because Panerai re-entered the watch market with a similar model in 1993. Before 1997 and the acquisition by the Vendôme Group, which later became Richemont, Panerai produced several versions of its Luminor with a concession to its predecessor: its size shrunk from 47mm to 44mm.
Offering a 44mm watch in 1993 was already very audacious. Panerai would wait a few more years before re-issuing its legendary 47mm model.

In order to lure future customers, the teams at Panerai decided to recreate the Luminor. The task was entrusted to Alessandro Bettarini, who designed a new case that was more angular than the original and had slightly reduced proportions. The success of this new version was such that Paneristi (as fans of the brand are known) call it the Bettarini.

The Bettarini is still listed in the Panerai catalogue but at the SIHH in 2014 the brand presented a new version, still at 44mm diameter, but with a more refined profile. The PAM 590 uses this new case.

Another major change is the movement. Since 1993, Panerai had been using Unitas movements in its Luminor models, which fitted well with its image as an assembler of tool watches. But, following its competitors, the brand presented its first "in house" movement, the P2002, in 2005. A long series of new movements followed until the hand-wound P5000 movement was launched in 2014, with an eight-day power reserve. Thinner than the Unitas, this movement allowed the Bettarini case to shed some weight.
It is the impressive power reserve that makes the Panerai PAM 590 so interesting. It bears the inscription "8 giorni brevettato" on the dial, which first appeared in 1950 on a Luminor Submersible produced for the Egyptian navy. At the time, the watch was fitted with an Angelus calibre.

The "8 Giorni" name stuck and still gets collectors salivating. Panerai has only launched a few models with this logo on the dial. The PAM 590 is one of them, which gives it even more charm.

The dial hides another interesting feature of the 590. Like all Panerais it is simple and loyal to the principles of legibility. The 9 is replaced by a small seconds counter. But if you look closer you will see that the colour of the hour markers is different from the colour of the "Luminor Panerai" text or the "8 Giorni" logo. The hour markers are orange, the text is white.

In Panerai culture this is known as a "non-matching" dial. It is an allusion to the first watches of the pre-Vendôme period (before the acquisition by Richemont), on which some white luminous hour markers would quickly change colour on exposure to the sun, creating a difference in colour between the (non-luminescent) inscriptions on the dial and the hour markers. What was originally a quality issue thus became a genuine Holy Grail. Some dials were replaced but other owners kept their watches as they were, thus creating a buzz about "non matching" dials that now makes them sought after because they are original.

The Panerai PAM 590 takes on this characteristic and therefore has a dial inspired by vintage models. Another reason to fall for it.

In summary, our Luminor has a "Bettarini" case, a "non matching" dial and an "8 Giorni" inscription.

At the start of this review, these terms may not have got your attention. But now that you have become Paneristi, you know why this Panerai PAM 590 is so special.
And if I add that in 2014 it is only available in the USA, I create both frustration and expectation.
Welcome to the world of Panerai!

What does the devil's advocate think?
A Panerai is recognisable, easily identifiable. This is both its strength and its weakness. The uninitiated will quickly say "OK, it's a Panerai". But the strength of the brand is in the subtlety of the changes it has made to its models from one year to the next. And this subtlety is sometimes… too subtle! You need time to appreciate the difference in colour of the hour markers, the orange of some numerals compared with the sandy yellow of others. Or the shape of a hand that recalls a particular model of 1942, compared with one from 1943! And there are numerous other examples.

A Panerai, therefore, is not just a watch. It is an object that you have to get to know, and that takes time. It will help you to get to grips with a phrase that angers any enlightened fan: "they are all the same!".

What image does the wearer of this Panerai project?
A Panerai is a "tool watch", an instrument for work invented to serve a particular purpose. It was born to be functional and effective, not to please. And that is precisely why it does please!
If the wearer of this PAM 590 is able to explain the distinguishing features of this model compared with another Luminor, he will already have come a long way and will be considered an expert rather than someone who has simply given in to a particular fashion.

Another point that is specific to Panerai watches: their ability to "accept" all kinds of leather straps. The Luminor is particularly versatile in this regard and has helped to build up a "strap culture" that is specific to the brand.
So if you really want to show that you are an aficionado, nothing could be simpler: forget about the strap supplied with the Panerai 590. It's not that it's ugly in any way, just that you should not keep it! That's the way it is. Choose a 74 instead, which will suit it very well.
You don't know what a 74 is?
Then you still have some ground to cover in your Paneristi education!
It's up to you to find the answer…

The new Radiomir 3 Days GMT Oro Rosso - 47mm is a Special Edition which incorporates the combination of history, design and technology.

From the aesthetic point of view, the appearance of the new Special Edition is a harmonious combination of the deep blue of the dial and the alligator strap with the warm glow of the case made of 5Npt red gold, an alloy which owes its coloration and resistance to oxidation to its high proportion of copper combined with a percentage of platinum.

The case has the cushion shape characteristic of the first watch created by Officine Panerai for the commandos of the Royal Italian Navy in 1936 and it has the historic diameter of 47 mm. The P.3001/10 calibre, entirely developed and made by the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel, can be admired through the wide window in the back. Beating at a rhythm of 28,800 vibrations per hour, it drives the hours, the minutes hands, the classic seconds counter at 9 o'clock as well as the the date window at 3 o'clock. This hand-wound calibre has the GMT function and a power reserve of three days, with the power reserve indicator in the back.

The new Radiomir 3 Days GMT Oro Rosso - 47mm (PAM 00598) is a Special Edition created in 200 units.

Worldtempus - 6 March 2013

It sort of feels against the spirit of it all, but every year I go to SIHH in search of watches people will actually wear. And when I say people, I'm ruling out sheiks, oligarchs and movie stars - yes, they're people too, but at the same time they're not. Instead, they "have" people, and those people fetch them million-dollar watches.
Now, I should point out at this stage I'm well aware SIHH is fine watchmaking's big do, and that the top trump watches from the fair are going to be made in limited numbers and cost a bomb - and that's fine. I love that stuff and I said as much in a piece about Richard Mille here on Worldtempus a few weeks ago.
But none of that has any tangible value to a consumer, even one with a fair bit of wedge to blow on a watch - £10,000 is a still a highly aspirational figure to spend on something that tells the time, lest we forget.
Which is why the only "best of" list I assimilate at the fair is of watches that could be called "ready-to-wear," a phrase borrowed from over the road and our friends in fashion. By that, I simply mean watches you might actually buy yourself and wear every day. Something you won't get mugged for wearing.
These then are my five "best ofs" from SIHH. Bread-and-butter stuff for the brands, perhaps, but word-of-mouth pieces nonetheless that will keep the customers happy and the coffers full.

IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40mm

IWC's expressed aim with the new Ingenieur was to take it beyond a collection of chronographs - hence the constant force tourbillon and digital date perpetual calendar models. But the watch I fell for was the Automatic, the closest in aesthetic to Gerald Genta's 1976 original Ingenieur SL design. Because it's only 40mm in diameter, it's too small to carry one of IWC's in-house movements, but that's a minor quibble, one many IWC and Ingenieur lovers will be happy to live with. It looks unflappable on the wrist - a sophisticated watch that will cut it both at work and play. (£4,650/€5,850)

Baume & Mercier Clifton

 

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I'll be the first to admit I don't get the brand's whimsical weatherboard and white-middle-class-nuclear-family shtick, but I do love its new Clifton, and, more importantly, am convinced this is a watch that could inject some much-needed life into the old brand. The gold hand-wound model with the La Joux-Perret movement will take the lion's share of the reviews, which is only part of the reason I've opted instead for the sun satin-finished silver-dialed automatic with blued steel hands. The main reason is that I had it on my wrist for two weeks before Christmas and I can tell you it's a fantastic watch. I have no doubt consumers will fall for it too. (£2,000/€2,325)

Panerai Luminor 1950 Regatta 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Titanio (PAM00526)

Aside from wishing Panerai would give its watches considerably shorter names, I find it very difficult to fault the brand's collection. I'm of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought and can't get enough of Luminors and Radiomirs - not least when they look like this. The PAM00526 is designed with people who race boats in mind and features a countdown timer, a genuinely useful complication I hanker after with unhealthy lust. While I'm not a yachty, I do time things, normally the short periods I have in which to complete life's tasks before I get called off in another direction. (£12,230/€13,900)

Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet

Jaeger-LeCoultre will spend most of its time this year talking about its 180th anniversary and its spectacular Jubilee collection, but the watch that made me jubilate was the Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet. As with last year's Deep Sea tribute models, it has a chronograph on/off indicator and comes in regular and vintage guises, but the brand has upped the case size from 42 to 44 mm. Last year I plumped for the regular look, but this year I'm going vintage, largely because of the way it works with the muted black tones of the brand's thwack-proof ceramic/aluminum alloy Cermet case and the upgraded diver's fabric strap, which - unlike last year's - is water-resistant. (£12,200/€13,800)

A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Up/Down

It wasn't really expected, but Lange sort of stole the show at SIHH, without doing any shouting. Yes, the brand's 50 mm Grand Complication watch is, I suppose, quite shouty (at €1.92 million it's certainly blindingly expensive), but its 1815 collection was spellbinding in its glorious understatement. The "entry-level" piece in the line-up is the 1815 Up/Down (which refers to its 72-hour power reserve indicator), a design so pure it must have been blessed by the outgoing pope. The 18-karat white gold version had me beatifying its designers because the case works perfectly with the solid silver dial and blued steel hands. And the view through the case back is classic Lange: the hand-engraved bridge and swan-neck regulator prove horology can be just as much about art as science. (£18,700/€23,000)

Many watch brands would like to be in Panerai's shoes. Since its acquisition by the company that became the Richemont Group, the watch firm with Italian roots has become one of the most collectible in the industry. Not many other brands can boast their own vast online collector community?

The Paneristi, as they are known, are passionate about their favorite brand. The community comprises collectors all stripes, from every continent and just about every walk of life—people of varied interests and ages, dwelling in cities and in the countryside. What brings them together is the joy that a certain watch designed in Italy and made in Switzerland brings to their lives.

Though the Paneristi are spread out around the world, several members make a point of gathering annually in a different city to celebrate "P-Day." Two years back, that celebration took place in New York, hosted by one of the more visible Paneristi to call the Big Apple home, the artist Eng Tay. International Watch caught up with Mr. Tay to discuss what makes the Paneristi tick.

iW: What drew you to Panerai?
Eng Tay: I've always been a watch enthusiast, even as a young man. I started out collecting modestly, but as my passion grew over the years, so did my eye for style and impact. I have to admit that at first I wasn't at all into Panerai watches because I was a little intimidated by the size.

Then my brother mentioned Panerai to me in 2000, and I had a second look. I had always worn 36 to 38mm, but then I went and tried one on. That was it! The weight was so reassuring and after a while, I began to stop looking at smaller models in other brands! Then the collecting started.

How did you discover the Paneristi community?
I discovered the Paneristi.com website in 2004 and I lurked there for quite some time, before becoming bold enough to join and reach out. It was a great experience. I found a place where passion for watches is a requirement, not an oddity.

What led you to become an active member?
I love to travel and one of the things that I enjoyed about the Paneristi community was that it was not only all across the U.S., but also international. As I was preparing for each trip, I was able to include meeting up with other 'Risti's, which added a whole new dimension to my travels.

Also, I met new people right here in New York, who again, not only shared the passion for the brand, but also had the same spirit of friendship that I had discovered on the Forum. I'm not much of a poster, but I do connect with others through e-mail. I also loved the spirit of giving that was evident in the fundraisers, which is something that has always been important to me.

How many Panerais are currently in your collection?
About forty pieces…

Do you collect vintage as well as modern pieces? Any highlights?
I do collect both vintage and modern pieces. I have a passion for things that are old, or from a different era. When a watch comes with an interesting provenance as well, it makes it all that more special.

Having said that, I also collect from an artist's point of view and I love good design. Many of the modern pieces are so beautifully styled, that I can be equally as passionate about them too.

I do have a few highlights….my PAM 21 Complete NOS is a highlight because it's one of the first that I bought, then there is the 6154….you know, I can't really answer this question definitively! There are too many special pieces.

You hosted P-Day in New York a few years ago. Have you traveled to other P-Days in the past? If so where?
I have been to P-Day on Hamilton Island in North East Australia, and I have been to P-Day in Germany. It was such an honor for me to host P-Day in New York. I am looking forward to traveling to London in the UK for this year's P-Day event. I'm sure it will be a blast.

How many attendees were at P-Day in New York? How many were local and how many traveled to attend?
Oh boy, that is a hard question to answer without going back into old files! I know that we were at full capacity and it was a very well mixed group. New York is a huge attraction on its own but we had attendees from all over Europe, not to mention Hawaii, Russia and Asia. The local attendee numbers were very high also. I think altogether we had close to 150 people there.

Panerai collectors are very well known for their passion. What do you think it is about the brand that inspires their passion?
I think the Panerai brand shows such a b connection to history which makes them that bit more special than other pieces.

The visual design and style is also so special; with Panerais there are no wasted details. Visually they are understated yet are still eye catching. They are weighty, yet reassuring to wear.

WORLDTEMPUS - 17 February 2011

I am a Panerist. I have been collecting Panerai since 2000 and have worn quite a few models in the eleven years I've collected these oversized timepieces. Over the course of these years, I have realized that the standard 44-millimeter Luminor case sporting the manually wound Unitas 6497 caliber is my favorite version made by this Italian company with Swiss production.
Actually, a size of 44 millimeters doesn't really even sound as oversized as it did in 1993 when the first modern Panerai models saw the light of day. Refined by the Vendôme Group (later Richemont) when it bought the company in 1997, these distinct 44-millimeter Luminor cases with the easily recognizable safety catch and crown bridge look and feel as if they can take a beating. And they sure can. Since the trusty Unitas 6497 is ticking away on the inside, there should be no fear of harming anything when wearing this particular Panerai, regardless of the activity.
Of course, the high polish of the bezel and case is a scratch magnet like on any other watch sporting this fragile polish.

Torpedo and Tinted LumiNova
This particular version of the Luminor has a special dial. Not only does it feature the famed maiale (the manned torpedo that Italian military divers used for underwater warfare) above the 6, the dial also sports pre-tinted LumiNova on the hands and hour markers. This light brown hue makes the watch look like a vintage Panerai with dull tritium hands and markers - a look loved by Panerai collectors: "the darker the better" seems to be the credo among the most hardcore Paneristi.
Contrary to other watch companies offering tinted LumiNova, Panerai's hour markers and hands are luminous at night, proving that Panerai still favors function before fashion.

Etched Neighboring Edifice
The back of the watch, not being an exhibition case back, features an engraving of Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. This edifice is not only the premier landmark of Firenze but also the building directly opposite the Panerai boutique in the city where the Panerai family originally started the company in 1860. Other boutique versions feature landmarks of the city in which the boutique is represented: the Paris boutique version displays the Eiffel Tower, Madrid's the Neptune Fountain, and Taipei the 101 Tower, for example. The boutique versions are limited to 50, 150 and 200 pieces. This Firenze version is a limited edition of 200 pieces.
It comes on a very nice so-called assolutamente strap that looks like it has taken part in a battle, adding to the instant vintage look that Panerai obviously hoped to achieve with this choice.
The caliber, as mentioned, is the manually wound Unitas 6497 with COSC chronometer certification. This movement, well known for its inherent precision, is actually the movement preferred by most watchmaking schools around the world for use in class, for teaching beginners, and as the base for graduation projects. Its components are larger than those of other wristwatch movements - harking back to its origins as a pocket watch movement - and the whole movement is easily accessible.

Why the Unitas?
At this time, Panerai has quite a number of in-house manual calibers, the latest in line being the P'3000 that was introduced at SIHH 2011. So why is Panerai offering these limited edition boutique versions powered by the Swatch-Group-produced Unitas movement? Is this a symbolic farewell to a trusted ticker from an external supplier or just another way of making extra money for the already successful Richemont-owned watch company?
As 2011 comes to an end, we'll hopefully be wiser. And perhaps by that time we will see if Panerai enjoys 100 percent autonomy - or will still be depending on the Unitas to power its entry-level line.

WORLDTEMPUS - 7 May 2010

Several brands—the latest in line being Girard-Perregaux and Panerai—have attempted to make good commercial use of a cooperation with Ferrari. But—honestly—they didn't really succeed.

Cabestan's Jean-François Ruchonnet and Timothy Bovard are expecting to break the streak with the collaboration they announced yesterday: the Scuderia Ferrari One by Cabestan uses the movement of the Winch Tourbillon Vertical as its mechanical base. For its visuals, Ruchonnet allowed himself to be deeply inspired by Ferrari race car technology and design. The result is eight cubic centimeters of pure mechanics dressed in a uniquely captivating design.

To find the pure essence of what makes up Ferrari's design magic, Ruchonnet teamed up with the Ferrari design team in Maranello headed up by design director Flavio Manzoni. The two worked together to identify elements in Ferrari's Formula 1 race cars that would become the basic design elements of the Scuderia Ferrari One: each component had to serve a specific purpose, and every material was chosen to enhance performance.
"This is not a simple licensing agreement as was the case with Panerai," Cabestan's president Timothy Bovard explains. "Cabestan and Ferrari have partnered to design, produce, and market the Scuderia Ferrari One by Cabestan. Ferrari will furnish certain components of the timepiece such as the titanium, the carbon fiber, and the leather."

"This is a joint product development between Ferrari and Cabestan and not a typical licensing/sponsorship agreement," Bovard continues. "As such, the financial relationship between the parties is royalty-based." In addition, Ferrari and Cabestan will directly market the timepiece to Ferrari owners only. "The Scuderia Ferrari One by Cabestan is a much more exclusive timepiece than any other ever developed with Ferrari or, in fact, with any other car brand in the world," Bovard explains the difference between this collaboration and others between watch- and automakers. Additionally, it will be possible for customers to have some elements of their own Scuderia Ferrari One by Cabestan personalized.

The Scuderia Ferrari One by Cabestan was created to honor the past sixty years of Ferrari racing in Formula One and will be offered only in a limited edition of 60 pieces. "This is just the first creation, and others will follow to celebrate specific events and car models in the world of Ferrari," Bovard assures us.
Bovard expects the first pieces to be ready by the end of the year. They will retail for € 300,000—which is more than the cost of a new Ferrari.

October 16, 2009

"This is an emotional thing for me", Angelo Bonati, CEO of Officine Panerai, stated last week as he opened the ambitious Galileo exhibition at famed Nobel Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. "And I am extremely proud to sponsor this exhibition," he continued in front of the international press that covered this special occasion in the Swedish capital on the very same day as the Nobel prize in literature went to German writer Herta Muller. Mr Bonati also announced a limited edition of a model offering a special Equation of Time.

The impressive exhibition that contained several old telescopes, including two surviving telescopes made by Galileo, astrological drawings and vintage Panerai watches, celebrated the historical introduction in 1609 of Galileo's landmark invention - the instrument that changed the perception of the world.
Initially this exhibition was created by the Istituto e Museo delle Scienza in Florence - also the home town of Officine Panerai. The exhibition marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo´s first celestial discoveries and is a unique occasion to experience one of the treasures of all time.

Not only is Officine Panerai sponsoring this unique event, but the watch company is also making its own unique contribution with a rather striking and extraordinary mechanical instrument, the Jupiterium. This is a watch that no Panerist expected to see. This is no tribute to Italian navy divers during Second World War. This is no Luminor, Radiomir nor the long awaited Mare Nostrum reintroduction. This is a mechanical instrument with a watch that shows time and has a manual-wound movement with a 40-day power reserve. The instrument also features a unique perpetual calendar that determines the exact date, day, month and year without any need for manual regulation, even in leap years.
Issued in a strictly limited edition of just three, the Jupiterium comprises a square wooden base that supports a glass sphere holding the Earth and planets on titanium arms. The constellation of the zodiac is picked out in superluminova on the surface of the sphere, shown as they can be seen both of Earth´s hemispheres.

VIEW THE PHOTO-GALLERY OF THE JUPITERIUM

During an interview with Angelo Bonati, Panerai's CEO, he told Worldtempus about a new model that will be released at the SIHH in January. It appears that Panerai will produce a limited (probably 30-piece) series of a particular model offering the Equation of Time function, yet tailor made to the owner's particular geographical location. This is indeed interesting yet surprising news, from the popular Florentine watch brand. And definitely something to look forward to, come January 2010.