Panerai Radiomir 8 Days (PAM00197)

In honour of its own Florentine origins, Panerai has for many years been promoting the genius of Galileo Galilei as a tribute to the great Tuscan scientist who, by formulating the law of isochronism of the small oscillations of the pendulum, revolutionised the history of time measurement. Thanks to the sponsorship of Panerai, in 2012 the Museo Galileo in Florence created a section where period exhibits and interactive multimedia devices illustrate Galileo's decisive contribution to the history of time measurement. At the same time, Panerai created a range of exclusive timepieces of the highest quality named "Lo Scienziato", which are a 16 tribute to the memory and fundamental legacy of the great physicist, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer.

Panerai's most recent creation in the "Lo Scienziato" range is the new Radiomir 1940 Tourbillon GMT Oro Rosso - 48mm, developed by the "Laboratorio di Idee" of the Panerai Manufacture in Neuchâtel. What immediately stands out is the work of skeletonising the P. 2005/S movement, the hand-wound calibre with a tourbillion regulator which brings this superb timepiece to life. Every component has been reduced to its essential structure and it is therefore possible to admire the arrangement, finish and action of the movement in great detail, both through the dial and the back.

The mechanism of the rotation of the tourbillon cage created by Panerai is unusual in that a single rotation is completed in 30 seconds - instead of the traditional 60 - and it rotates on a perpendicular axis, instead of parallel to that of the balance wheel. This special construction compensates more effectively position errors caused by the force of gravity, thus ensuring more accurate time measurement.

The skeletonised bridges and plates not only reveal the interlacing of the gear wheels and components of the watch but also the unwinding of the springs inside the three barrels which give the timepiece a power reserve of six days. The power reserve remaining is indicated on the back of the movement.

"Lo Scienziato" is presented for the first time in a Radiomir 1940 case of red gold, the diameter of which is an imposing 48 mm. To enable the skeletonising to be admired, the watch does not have a normal dial: the small seconds dial at 9 o'clock, with its indicator dot rotating simultaneously with the tourbillon cage, and the counter at three o'clock, with the AM/PM indication are integral with the movement. On the other hand, the linear hour-markers and numbers, all coated in ecru Super-LumiNova® are directly fixed to the black flange on which the name "Lo Scienziato" is engraved.

The P.2005/S movement also has the GMT function with a central hand indicating a second time zone, day/night indication on an auxiliary dial at three o'clock and the system for quickly setting local time. This is done by means of a star wheel with 12 teeth and a small friction spring, which enables the single hour hand to be adjusted in jumps, without interfering with the movement of the minute hands or the running of the watch.

Produced in a limited edition of 30 units, the new Radiomir 1940 Tourbillon GMT (PAM00559) comes with a black alligator strap and a polished red gold folding buckle. Like all Panerai watches the new model is water-resistant, in this case to a depth of 50 metres.