Panerai Automatic Watch, Imitation Panerai Automatic Watches

Panerai Luminor Chrono 2000 (PAM00045)

I bought the white Panerai Luminor Chrono 2000 (PAM00045) watch for my girlfriend and she loves it! It's a little big, but she loves the look.

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

Review by Dallas Marcum, From Austria Oberhofen Im Inntal

Panerai Luminor Submersible 1000M (PAM00064)

This cuff Panerai Luminor Submersible 1000M (PAM00064) watch does not fit at all. It does not curve around to fit the wrist.It just hangs. I will be returning it.

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

Review by Jason Trauger, From United States New York, Ny

Panerai Luminor 1950 3 Days Chrono Flyback Black Dial Men's Watch PAM00524

A splurge for me and I love it. This watch dresses up any outfit. It's modern, beautiful, and practical. With Fossil, you're getting a quality watch that will stand the test of time. I feel special when I wear it,and a good investment.

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

Review by Sean Connors, From USA Baltimore, Maryland`

A large Panerai wall clock, with the iconic minimalist design which makes every timepiece of the Florentine brand immediately recognisable, enables anyone entering the Info Point at the Expo Gate at Piazza Castello to read the time in Milan and five other world capitals, chosen for their international vocation and their connection with Universal Expositions: London, New York and Paris (seat of the BIE, the Bureau International des Expositions) and also Shanghai and Dubai (hosts respectively of the last and the next Universal Expositions).

Like all the brand's timepieces, the clock provides exceptional visibility at night, making it legible even in darkness, and it is therefore visible at all times from outside the Info Point, thanks to the building's ethereal structure of transparent glass and tubular steel.

This summer, Officine Panerai will also completely renew its Milanese boutique at Via Montenapoleone 1. The boutique is currently being restyled and enlarged under the supervision of the designer Patricia Urquiola, creator of the new concept already incorporated in the Flagship stores recently opened in Florence, Hong Kong, New York and Paris.

Ten yachts and their crews will leave Lanzarote in the Canary Islands today in a race across the Atlantic Ocean to Martinique in the Caribbean. But the yachts are not high-tech, futuristic multihulls (one is nearly 90 years old) and their skippers are far from being superstars of sailing.

As its name suggests, the Panerai Transat Classique is more concerned with reminiscing about the golden age of sailing, pitting the wits of the skippers against the elements and the weather. In keeping with the spirit of the race, some skippers choose to navigate only by sextant.

Gildas Rostain, skipper of , the winner of the inaugural 2008 edition of the race, sums up the atmosphere on this unique regatta: "The days pass too quickly, so you owe it to yourself to remain positive every minute you are aboard, even in the most difficult moments. Make the most of the special moments. Have a drink, sit back and enjoy the sunsets in the trade wind zones, the shine of the varnished wood, that obedient spinnaker... Don't miss a second of it!" 

What's more, for the third edition of this transatlantic race, the organisers have made the course even more difficult. Right at the start, the skippers have to take a gamble: head south to pick up as soon as possible the powerful trade winds that will carry them across the Atlantic, navigate through the Canary Islands archipelago to save on distance (it's the shortest route) but risk getting caught in the calm of the lee of the islands, or seek out the ber, but often more fickle, winds to the north. You can follow their progress in real time, and see whose gamble paid off, on the official website of the Panerai Transat Classique.

Whether it is the fruit of the ingenuity of a maestro or whether it is born almost spontaneously from the function for which it is intended, a design classic is immediately recognisable for the strength and the naturalness with which it imposes itself on the collective imagination. Officine Panerai's Radiomir 1940 has the authority of a classic of modernity. Its simple, quintessential form tells the story of the years in which it was designed while maintaining its unchanging up-to-date character. Its design stands out for its functional rigour and the simplicity of its lines, free of decorative excess: features which in 1940 were related to a new way of life and a world of evolving values which in the following years would lead to the international recognition of Italian industrial design.

Created to satisfy the demanding requirements of the specialist underwater forces of the Royal Italian Navy, the Radiomir 1940 today still has the characteristics of solidity, endurance and reliability that are the hallmarks of a timekeeping instrument designed for military use. The design of the case and dial have the same overall quality and the identical iconic power as the original, demonstrating the great versatility of a classic which is today enriched with the highest technical content of luxury contemporary watchmaking from the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel.

The new Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic models embody the characteristics and qualities which make every Panerai watch unique but at the same time immediately recognisable. The 45mm case represents that of some of the historic models created by Panerai in around 1940. The large polished bezel surrounds a classic dial providing excellent legibility, with its minimalist design and its structure of superimposed plates sandwiching the luminous substance between them. This construction means that the hour figures and the baton markers cut in the upper plates shine with great brilliance. The seconds hand rotates in a small sub-dial at 9 o'clock on the dial, which is black in the steel version and brown in the red gold version.

The Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic is water-resistant to ten bar (around 100 metres) in the steel version and five bar (around 50 metres) in the red gold version, and it is supplied with an alligator strap, black or brown respectively.

The Radiomir 1940 is presented for the first time with an automatic movement, the new P.4000 calibre which is the latest creation of the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel. The distinctive feature of the new calibre is its off-centre oscillating weight, winding in both directions. With a diameter of 13¾ lignes and just 3.95 mm thick, it has been developed to integrate perfectly with the proportions of the Radiomir 1940 case. Its elegant finish and decoration can be appreciated through the sapphire crystal porthole fitted in the back.

The new P.4000 calibre is the first Panerai automatic movement with an off-centre micro-rotor. This means that the rotor is smaller in diameter than the calibre itself: a sophisticated technical solution which enables the movement - and therefore the watch itself - to be much thinner. In the model with a steel case, the oscillating weight is made of tungsten; in the red gold model, the rotor is made of 22 carat red gold. Next to the oscillating weight is the balance wheel, which oscillates at a frequency of 4 Hz, and a large bridge concealing much of the mechanism, making the structure of the movement exceptionally stable. With two spring barrels connected in series, the P.4000 calibre has a power reserve of at least three days, and it is also fitted with the device which stops the balance wheel when the winding crown is pulled out to set the time, useful for synchronising the watch exactly.
 

The P.4000 calibre is produced in two versions which differ in the kind of finish, the engraving and the material of the micro-rotor. The first, for models with a steel case, has bridges with a horizontally brushed finish, blue engraving and an oscillating weight of tungsten alloy, with relief decoration on the matt surface. The second version is for the models with a gold case and it has bridges with a circular brushed finish, gilded engraving and a rotor of 22 carat gold, with clous de Paris hobnail finish and polished decorations in relief on the brushed surface.

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)

Revue FH - 24 February 2011

A powerful, fascinating reminder of the sea makes the new Special Edition Luminor Submersible unique. This professional underwater watch is the development of the model made by Officine Panerai more than half a century ago for the commandos of the Egyptian Navy. The new Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo - 47 mm is actually made of bronze, one of the materials associated since antiquity with the world of the sea.

Bronze is an alloy based on copper and one other metal, usually tin, to which other elements can be added to achieve particular performance. The bronze chosen by Officine Panerai for the case of the new Luminor Submersible is CuSn8, an alloy of copper and pure tin very resistant to corrosive action by sea water and atmospheric agents. As well as its high degree of structural strength, this material preserves the warm shades of the original while acquiring over time the aged appearance through the patina which covers it. This patina is the result of the reaction of the bronze to external agents (air, humidity, heat and wear). It does not alter the properties of the material but is rather a sign of its ageing, making each example unique and personalised.
The brushed bronze case, 47 mm in diameter, is water-resistant to 300 metres and has a unidirectional rotating bezel with ratchet click and graduated scale for calculating the times of immersion, with raised studs for reference. The characteristic bridge protecting the winding crown, with the lever ensuring perfect water-resistance of the crown itself, is also made of bronze. The sapphire back is fixed to the caseband by a ring of titanium, a metal chosen for its hypoallergenic qualities.
The dial follows the characteristic appearance of the Luminor Submersible, with bar markers applied in place of the figures 12 and 6, but it is executed in an unusual dark green colour which goes well with the bronze colour of the case. Protected by a sapphire crystal, the dial has skeleton hands which are highly luminous, the little dials of the small seconds at 9 o'clock and, in a symmetrical position, the window with the date.
The movement of the Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo - 47 mm is the automatic P.9000 calibre, entirely designed and produced in the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel. The P.9000 calibre has a structure with a three-quarter plate, clearly visible through the transparent caseback, a diameter of 13 3/4 lignes and two spring barrels which provide a power reserve of three days.
Produced in a limited edition of 1.000 units, the Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo - 47 mm is completed by a leather strap, treated in such a way as to have an appearance similar to that of the period models and fitted with a personalised titanium buckle.