SIHH 2011: Panerai Radiomir 3 Days Platino PAM00373 47MM

In Officine Panerai’s earlier days there was a rare, mysterious version of the Radiomir of which only two examples are known. This appeared at the end of the 1930s and was unusual for its unique and original dial design. The new Radiomir 3 Days Platino - 47 mmis a Special Edition which picks up this dial design, never previously revived in the history of Officine Panerai. The brown dial of the new Radiomir, protected by a Plexiglas® crystal, has a minimalist appearance, consisting of an alternation of bar-shaped hour markers – double ones at 12 o’clock and single ones at 3, 6 and 9 – and dot markers, rather than the characteristic large figures which are typical of the classic Panerai dial. To ensure the greatest legibility, as in the historic models, the dial is a sandwich construction: this consists of two superimposed discs, the upper one of which is perforated to form the hour markers through which the radiance of the luminous material between them emerges.

The origin of this dial is not easy to identify. According to some historians, the two surviving examples (which differ in that one has a small seconds dial and the other does not) were possibly test samples, which were not followed. The loss of the Panerai archive in the Florence flood of 1966 does not allow this to be known for certain, but the watch, together with the mystery surrounding it, has preserved all its fascination in the new Radiomir.

The Radiomir case, 47 mm in diameter, is made of platinum and it is water-resistant to 100 meters, a figure to which it is believed that the first Radiomirs could descend. The back has a large sapphire crystal window to display the movement and the strap attachments are of wire, no longer welded to the caseband as in the distant past, but removable (an Officine Panerai patent) to enable the strap to be changed more easily.

The Radiomir 3 Days Platino - 47 mm is fitted with the P.3000 calibre, entirely designed and manufactured in the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel. The calibre is 16½ lignes in diameter, it has 21 jewels and the variable inertia 13,2 mm balance wheel enables its rate to be rapidly adjusted by means of the adjusting screws on the rim. With its structure of large bridges, a feature typical of Panerai movements, the P.3000 has two spring barrels which provide a power reserve of three days.

The new Radiomir 3 Days Platino - 47 mm (PAM00373) is produced in 199 numbered units and is completed by a brown alligator strap, closed by a buckle of polished white gold.

Reference: PAM00373

Movement: Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.3000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 160 components.

Functions: Hours, minutes.

Case: Diameter 47 mm, platinum with removable wire loop strap attachments (patented). Winding crown personalized OP.

Bezel: Platinum.

Back: See-through sapphire crystal.

Dial: Brown, with luminous hour markers.

Crystal: Plexiglas®, 2.8 mm thick.

Water-resistance: 10 bar (~100 meters).

Strap: PANERAI personalized alligator strap and large-size white gold buckle.