After two successful editions, Panerai Replica once again pays tribute to Guillaume Néry with this new Luminor Marina limited to 70 pieces. When you are able to descend to a depth of 126m in a single breath, you need a very readable watch, which is why the double world champion has teamed up with the Italian brand. Always innovative in this field, the latter also celebrates, through this edition, the 70th anniversary of Luminor, a tritium-based substance that it created and patented in 1949.
An old brand, always innovative
Founded in 1860 in Florence, Panerai has stood out through its constant search for innovation. Thus, from the beginning of the 20th century, it became the official supplier of the “Regia Marina” (the Italian royal navy). In 1915, it gave birth to “Radiomir”, a powder with a self-sufficient luminescent capacity, based on the work of physicists Pierre and Marie Curie on radium. This material, offering incredible visibility underwater, allows Panerai to directly respond to the military requirements of Italian army divers.
A more modern interpretation of the Luminor
Its imposing cushion case measures 44mm in diameter and 16.2mm in thickness, which remains reasonable when you know the Florentine house. It was designed using a very innovative 3D printing process: DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering). The latter uses layers of grade 5 titanium and offers incredible lightness, 40% more than traditional titanium. It is topped with a rubber-coated bezel, offering modernity and protection to this special edition, and of course, a domed sapphire crystal. We also find the legendary “sandwich” type dial, characterized here by a very beautiful gradient of black going from dark on the outside to lighter towards the center.
The latter represents the shadows created by the sun when its rays penetrate the sea. As you may have suspected, it is littered with stick indexes as well as imposing Arabic numerals at 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, widely used by the house Italian. A small seconds counter has been added at 9 o’clock and a discreet date disc with a black background has been placed symmetrically at 3 o’clock. Another important detail, the case back has a sumptuous engraving with the image of the double world champion. It is delivered on a magnificent black recycled PET strap with 6 lines of white stitching. A white rubber strap, with a sportier look, is also offered with it.
A manufacturing movement and an exceptional guarantee
Another strong point of the Italian brand: its movements. Here we are dealing with the P.9010 caliber, an automatic winding caliber only 6mm thick, surprising for a house that is used to very imposing cases. It was entirely developed and designed in Neuchâtel, the brand’s first factory opened in 2014. It is a movement equipped with a double barrel offering a comfortable power reserve of over 3 days. Another specificity, it is equipped with a function allowing the quick adjustment of the time, the latter can be moved forward or backward without affecting the minutes and while remaining connected to the date disc.
In short, this Luminor Marina Guillaume Néry edition is, like the first two editions, a more avant-garde version of this brand classic, particularly through the manufacturing process of its case as well as the coating of its bezel. It nevertheless remains very faithful to this legendary collection while offering magnificent aesthetic details such as the gradient of its dial or the engraving of its case back.