OFFICINE PANERAI – Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio 47mm & Luminor 1950 3 Days Acciaio 47mm Special Edition NEW
Officine Panerai introduces two special edition timepieces; both feature
a distinctive brown dial that tells a fascinating story of the brand
which revolutionised the legibility of wristwatches in the dark and
underwater.
Radiomir and
Luminor, which today identify the cases,
originally referred to the two luminous materials created to achieve
the legendary visibility at night or underwater which have always been a
feature of the dials of
Panerai watches. It began with the invention of
Radiomir: this was a powder based on radium, patented by
Guido Panerai
in
1916, to make luminous gun sights and other optical devices
exceptionally visible in the dark.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
It was
Radiomir which was used on the dial of the first ever
Panerai
watch in
1936, and for several years this remarkable luminous substance
was one of the closely guarded military secrets which enabled the
commandos of the
Royal Italian Navy to carry out their extraordinary
missions in the depths of the sea at night, equipped with instruments
specially created by the Florentine watchmaker.
In the
1940s
people were concerned about the radioactivity of radium powder and
therefore in
1949 Panerai patented
Luminor, a new luminous substance
based on tritium, some 20 times less radioactive. The replacement
happened gradually, because some of
Orologeria Panerai’s clients
preferred the unrivalled visibility of
Radiomir even after the invention
of Luminor, and this explains why some watches were produced using this
substance even in the
1950s. At a distance of several decades, it is
the colour of the dial which tells this story about
Panerai’s
exceptional luminosity. The effect of the radium-based powder – and also
to a lesser extent that based on tritium – has been to bring about a
change in the colour of the dials of some vintage watches, transforming
the original black into a characteristic brown, which helps to make each
of these models unique and different from all the others.
Two
new
Special Editions, made in
1,000 examples each, draw inspiration from
this detail to appeal to lovers of the history of watchmaking: the
Radiomir 1940 3 Days(
PAM00662) and the
Luminor 1950 3 Days(
PAM00663).
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
Among the clients of
Panerai who asked for a Radiomir watch, after the
Luminor patent application, was the Egyptian Navy, which for the first
time in
1954 turned to the Florentine watchmaker for the supply of a
special series of diver’s watches designed for frogmen. It was this
request which gave rise to one of the most fascinating watches in the
history of
Officine Panerai, known to collectors by the reference
6154
and the name “Egiziano Piccolo”– to distinguish it from its famous
successor, the Egiziano of
1956 – and today it is presented again as a
Special Edition: the new
Radiomir 1940 3 Days.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
Originally no more than 30 or 40 examples of the Egiziano Piccolo were
produced, making it one of the most sought after vintage
Panerai
watches, and the new
Radiomir 1940 3 Days is a faithful re-creation of
it, updated to meet the current standards of high quality sports
watchmaking. It uses the
Radiomir 1940 case in the historic size of 47
mm in diameter, today made of AISI 316L stainless steel with a polished
finish. The lugs are formed from the block of the case itself. The
winding crown is cylindrical and the profile of the watch is
particularly elegant with the sharp edge of the case band.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
The other
Special Edition created by
Officine Panerai is the new
Luminor 1950 3 Days. In this model, the same brown dial is fitted in a
Luminor 1950 case, immediately recognisable by the bridge-shaped device
with its locking lever which exercises a light pressure on the winding
crown to protect it from accidental shocks and to help ensure the
watch’s water-resistance. This device had certainly been invented and
used even earlier, perhaps even before the end of the
1940s, but the
patent application was only lodged as late as
1955, probably delayed
because of the military secrecy imposed by the Italian Navy.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
The new
Luminor 1950 3 Days has the
Luminor 1950 case of AISI 316L
stainless steel, in its first historic version: the one with a diameter
of 47 mm, its cusped shape reminiscent of the cases of the first
Radiomir watches.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
The distinctive, original element of both these new models is the brown
dial, its colour inspired by that of the vintage watches which have
undergone the discolouring effect caused by the luminous material. The
substance used today to achieve exceptional night visibility, typical of
all
Panerai watches, is Grade A Super-LumiNova®, applied to the
incisions made in the dial corresponding to the classic, large markers
which indicate the hours. To protect the dial, the crystal is made not
of sapphire glass but of lightly cambered Plexiglas®, as in the vintage
examples where the crystal was made of polymethylacrylate. The hands too
reproduce those of the period
Panerai watches and the
OP reference is
engraved between the lugs, exactly as it was in the historic models.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
Through the sapphire porthole on the back of the new
Special Editions,
the hand-wound
P.3000 calibre, entirely made in the
Panerai Manufacture
in Neuchâtel, can be admired. Accurate, durable and reliable as befits a
Panerai movement, the
P.3000 has two spring barrels which enable it to
accumulate a power reserve of three days and it is here presented for
the first time with a new appearance.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
The structure of the movement is
now protected by four brush-finished bridges, including the one with
twin supports which in a particularly stable manner secures the balance
oscillating at a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations per hour). The
P.3000 calibre also has the useful device which enables the hour hand to
be swiftly and accurately adjusted forward or backward, without
interfering with the running of the minute hand.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
Both models are supplied with a Ponte Vecchio strap in brown leather
with visible ecru sewing, the heat engraved
OP logo and a tongue buckle
in polished steel personalised
Panerai. The elegant wood box in which
the two new
Special Editions are supplied also contains a spare
Plexiglas® crystal. The watch is water-resistant to 10 bar (equivalent
of a depth of about 100 metres).
-------------------------------------------------------
RADIOMIR 1940 3 DAYS ACCIAIO – 47mm (PAM00662)
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
Movement:
Hand-wound mechanical,
P.3000 calibre,
executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3mm thick,
21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour.
Incabloc® anti-shock device.
Power reserve 3 days, two barrels.
164 components.
Functions:
Hours, minutes
Case:
47 mm, AISI 316L polished steel
Back: See - through sapphire crystal
Bezel: Polished stee.
Crystal: Plexiglas®.
Dial:
Brown with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers
Power Reserve: 72H
Water-Resistance:10 bar (~100 metres)
Strap:
Calf Ponte Vecchio Dark Brown, beige, STD, 26/22,
Luminor -
Radiomir 1940 47-48mm.
Buckle:
Trapezoidal polished steel, 22mm,
Luminor 44-47mm,
Radiomir 45-47-48mm and
Radiomir 1940 47mm.
-----------------------------------------------------
LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS ACCIAIO – 47mm (PAM00663)
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ... BIG FOTO
Movement:
Hand-wound mechanical,
P.3000 calibre,
executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3mm thick,
21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour.
Incabloc® anti-shock device.
Power reserve 3 days, two barrels.
164 components.
Functions:
Hours, minutes
Case:
47 mm, AISI 316L polished steel
Back: See - through sapphire crystal
Bezel: Polished stee.
Device protecting the crown: (protected as a trademark) Brushed steel.
Crystal: Plexiglas®.
Dial:
Brown with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers
Power Reserve: 72H
Water-Resistance:10 bar (~100 metres)
Strap:
Calf Ponte Vecchio Dark Brown, beige, STD, 26/22,
Luminor -
Radiomir 1940 47-48mm.
Buckle:
Trapezoidal polished steel, 22mm,
Luminor 44-47mm,
Radiomir 45-47-48mm and
Radiomir 1940 47mm.
*
The trademark Velcro® and Coramid® are notproperty of Officine Panerai
*
Officine Panerai is not the owner of the Glucydur® and KIF Parechoc® trademarks.
-----------------------------------------------------------
www.facebook.com - Officine Panerai
-----------------------------------------------------------------
www.PANERAI.com
