Panerai

Luminor Due Watches

Officine Panerai, since its inception in Florence, Italy in 1860, has built itself to be recognized as one of the most esteemed luxury watchmakers in the world. In the present day, the company is recognized for its high-quality accurate watches. The front-runner among these watches is the Panerai Luminor collection, which boasts fine craftsmanship. 

The Panerai watches have undergone many developments over the years, and the company has always strived to produce state-of-the-art timepieces for the watch connoisseurs. With this vision in mind, the company came out with another exciting collection of watches in 2016. This was called the Panerai Luminor Due, which paid a tribute to the famous Luminor models of the 1950s. 

The Panerai Luminor Due collection is widely considered to be a new chapter in the history of the company. The collection, which was a reinterpretation of the classic Luminor models of the 1950s, acquired a prime position in the legacy of the brand. All of the watches in this collection are an exquisite blend of Swiss craftsmanship and Italian design sensibilities. With the introduction of the Panerai Luminor Due, the company entered into a new era of high-quality sports watches.

Officine Panerai is well known to be the official supplier of precision instruments for the Royal Italian Navy for several years now. The reputation of the brand was built on the manufacture of highly precise timepieces which featured innovative technological integrations. The iconic Panerai Radiomir was first introduced to the market in 1916, which established the company as the best watchmaking company among the general population. The Radiomir watches featured an invention that offered luminous properties to the dial of the watches by using a radium-based powder. This enhanced the readability of the dial even in a low-light setting. However, the radium-based paint was found to be toxic and dangerous, which is why the original Radiomir watches were discontinued later on.

It was in 1949, that a safer and non-toxic alternative was used to provide luminosity. This gave birth to the Panerai Luminor watches, which enjoyed huge success and established the name of the most successful collection of watches in Panerai history. The Panerai Luminor collection was built on the request of the Italian military. It featured a cushion-shaped case, which was quite similar to the one found in the Radiomir watches. The crown protection bridge was designed in a way to prevent people from unconsciously fidgeting with time. By the time the Luminor collection was launched, the brand gained a massive following among watch connoisseurs all around the world. Today, the Panerai Luminor collection is considered to be one of the most highly acclaimed luxury men’s watches in the history of watchmaking.

The Panerai Luminor Due derived its inspiration from the iconic Luminor diver watch from 1950. The old classic was reinterpreted in a modern way in 2016, and the company launched the Panerai Luminor Due collection of watches. These watches were famous for developing the thinnest automatic calibers at the time.

The official launch of the Panerai Luminor Due was held in May of 2016, in an exhibition in Florence called ‘Dive into Time’. With this launch, the company aimed to reinvent the classic style of the Luminor watch case and adapt the military tools into a more modern style. The Panerai Luminor Due represents a fresh chapter in the history of the brand. It came with many new adjustments like a slimmer case with a modern Panerai movement, besides a micro-rotor for winding it automatically. While the classic Luminor of the 1950s was designed specifically for men in the military, the new watches in the Luminor Due collection could be worn by anyone.

Case

The Panerai Luminor has been widely considered to be a favorite among watch collectors. While people loved the style of the classic, there were many collectors who required a watch for a formal occasion. This is where the new Luminor Due collection came in. The models in this collection were dressier variants of the classic so that they gave a luxurious feel to the wearers on formal occasions. The new watch featured a slight sloping bezel and a refined case, which gave it a more elegant look.

The Panerai watches are known for their big dial sizes. This design choice can be owed to the military history of the watch. The Panerai Luminor Due deviated from this style to come out with much smaller sizes, measured around 38mm in diameter. This makes the Luminor Due collection one of the smallest watches manufactured by the brand. This feature made the watches more universal, as they could be worn by both men and women. 

Among other changes from the standard Luminor design was the case. In Luminor Due models, the case measures anywhere between 10.5mm to 10.7mm in thickness. This translates to around forty percent reduction from the size of the original Panerai Luminor watch from the 1950s. Because of the alterations in size, the Panerai Due collection is also significantly lighter in weight.

Movement

The Panerai Luminor Due introduced four models during its launch in 2016. All of these models were powered by the Panerai mechanical movement which had a power reserve for three days. The slimmer design of the Luminor Due watches also meant that a slimmer movement was embedded in this watch. These watches featured the P.4000 automatic movement and P.1000 manually wound caliber, both of which were essential to the establishment of the identity of Luminor Due watches.

Notably, the P.4000 movement, which was introduced in 2014, was the thinnest automatic Calibre introduced by the company. It measured only 3.95mm in height and featured a bi-directional micro-rotor which was embedded into the baseplate. Besides the slim design, the new movement was also extremely robust. It stayed true to many of the characteristics which defined the Panerai movements, like sturdy bridges, large baseplates, and a substantial number of screws. In addition to this, it also featured the KIF pare choc anti-shock protection feature.

Since the introduction of this new line, some Luminor Due updated models have been introduced into the market. Panerai has been consistently putting the insignificant amount of effort in including the latest technologies in its models.

The company came out with new Luminor Due models in 2021. These watches featured the P.9000 Calibre, which was even thinner than the older automatic variant. This movement, which measured around 4.2mm in thickness, was developed in Neuchâtel. The unique feature of this model was its power reserve and the date display. Besides this, another model was also introduced which was called the Luminor Due GMT Power Reserve PAM 964 used the P.4002 Calibre. This watch measured around 4.8mm in thickness and had many features like twin time zones, am-pm indicator, and dial side power reserve.

Final Words

The Panerai Luminor Due has been successful in carrying forward the legacy of the brand, which has a rich culture in the history of watchmaking. The models in this collection boast of discreet modern designs along with the fine craftsmanship of Italian heritage, making this luxury watch the best choice for everyday wear.