Sometimes a watch doesn’t need to be dressed to the nines in order to impress, or be equipped with every gadget, gizmo and complication a watch designer can think of. Sometimes it’s best to remember the old adage that less is more because time and time again it’s simplicity that makes us fall in love with design. That’s certainly the case with the new Panerai Luminor Tre Giorni PAM01628.
It was only a few months ago we were dwelling on the earliest days of Panerai’s history with the Radiomir ref. 3646 and it’s that watch that clearly influences the design of the new Luminor. Both that original, early Radiomir and the Luminor Tre Giorni have steel cushion cases with black, sandwich dials featuring Arabic numerals at 12/3/6/9 and bars for the intervening indices. Obviously the Luminor has the modernised elements of the Luminor design compared to the Radiomir such as the signature crown locking system that gives it a bolder appearance.
Not that the Luminor Tre Giorni needs help looking bold because with a diameter of 47mm it’s a true wristmonster. Among the biggest in the collection. But that immense size is balance somewhat by the understated nature of the time only display. Yes, it’s going to be controversial because we mere mortals who are too scared to venture beyond a robust 42mm won’t have a dream in hell of wearing one without being engulfed by it.
But when you see it on the wrist of a Sly Stallone, a Dwayne Johnson, a Joe Rogan, it will look exactly right. Plus, as Panerai collectors (the Paneristi) tell us all the time, they don’t want smaller Panerais. So Panerai are catering towards the people who are actually buying their watches by keeping them large and it makes perfect market sense to do so when your customer base is this loyal.
Turn the watch over and you’ll find an exhibition caseback revealing the manual winding P.3000 movement. It’s equipped with a double barrel system that provides a 3-day power reserve, hence the name Tre Giorni, which translates to Three Days in Italian. Once again, elegance and beautiful simplicity are the name of the game in terms of finishing with horizontal brushing on the main plate and polished edges.
As for price, the Panerai Luminor Tre Giorni PAM01628 is £9,100. That’s around the mid-range price for the Luminor collection, which tends to either be around £5,000 for the most accessible models, £8,000-£10,000 for the majority of the collection and then £13,000+ for high complication models with some even breaking the £100,000 mark in precious metals. I think this watch will easily appeal to diehard Paneristi and for those of us who think it’s too big, at least it’s easy to admire from a distance.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Panerai
Luminor The Giorni
Ref:
PAM01628
Case:
47mm
diameter x 15.1mm thickness, green ceramic case
Dial:
Grey
grained sandwich with black gradient & beige Super-LumiNova
Water resistance:
100m
(10 bar)
Movement:
Panerai
calibre P.3000, manual winding, 21 jewels
Frequency:
21,600
vph (3 Hz)
Power reserve:
72h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes
Strap:
Dark
brown calf leather with beige stitching
Price:
£9,100
More details at Panerai.
Oracle Time