Officine Panerai showcases exceptional timepieces at 2nd Dubai Watch Week

Luxury Swiss watch manufacturer Officine Panerai is showcasing its exceptional timepieces at the 2^nd edition of the ongoing Dubai Watch Week at the ‘‘Horological Movement Exhibition’ in DIFC. It also has an interesting lineup of events such as a ‘Creative Hub’ networking session to be held with regional PANERAI’s enthusiasts and watchmaking connoisseurs and two exclusive ‘watchmaking classes’ orchestrated by PANERAI master watchmaker coming from the manufacture in Neuchâtel-Switzerland. Exquisite novelties too will be on display at the ‘Mastery of Time Exhibition’ curated by the Foundation de la Haute Horologie (FHH), located in Dubai Mall.

Part of the Richemont Group since 1997, the eponymous watch brand was founded way back in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai (1825–1897) in Florence, Italy in 1860. The OFFICINE PANERAI watches are a natural blend of Italian design, Swiss technology and passion for the sea.

Following the expansion of their Luminor collection in 2015, Officine Panerai presented their new Radiomir 1940 Collection this year at SIHH with 4 new models that provide not only a larger selection of dial designs, but also a wider choice of technical features: the Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Automatic (PAM00627 and PAM00657) with the P.4001 movement and the Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Power Reserve Automatic (PAM00628 and PAM00658) with the P.4002 movement.

The 42mm steel Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic Acciaio PAM655 is the first Radiomir 1940 with a white dial, it has a cushion case, large Arabic numerals printed all around its periphery with the exception of the 9 o'clock position where the sub-dial for the running seconds is located. It is powered by the in-house manufactured P.4000 movement that runs at 4 Hertz and, thanks to its double, series-coupled barrels, provides 3 full days of power reserve.

12th Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge

The season-closing Régates Royales de Cannes delivered a fitting finale to the 12^th edition of the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge, the leading international circuit for classic and vintage craft. More than 80 of the most beautiful yachts in sailing history did battle for the Panerai watches destined for the event winners in addition to, of course, the Panerai Trophies for the top-scoring yachts of the season. The three craft that wrote their names in the 2016 Circuit roll of honour were Moonbeam IV in the Big Boats, Chinook in the Vintage  Yachts and Ganbare in the Classic Yachts. Four prestige Panerai watches were also presented to the winners of the main categories of the Régates Royales de Cannes. The victor in the Big Boats was Moonbeam IV, while Patrizio Bertelli’s Linnet (1905), the 10th of 18 New York Yacht Club 30s to be built, took the honours in the Vintage Yachts. The 1969 Bermudan sloop Arcadia took the watch in the Classic Yacht category while Freya of Midgard (2001) did likewise in the Spirit of Tradition.

The winners at Cannes in all the individual categories into which the fleet was divided are: Moonbeam IV (Big Boats), Arcadia (Classic Yachts), Enterprise (Vintage Marconi > 15 m), Arrow (Vintage Marconi < 15 m), Linnet (Vintage Gaff), Freya of Midgard (Spirit of Tradition), Sovereign (International 12-Metre Class). Overall victory amongst the 50 Dragons that competed in Cannes went to the Russian boat Annapurna after 10 races and under the captaincy of the class champion Anatoly Loginov.

Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciaio

From the meeting between two ancient and far distant traditions comes the Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciaio – 44mm (PAM00850), the new Special Edition made in only 99 units on the occasion of the Year

of the Monkey, part of the series created by Officine Panerai in honour of the signs of the Chinese Zodiac. The watch is the eight of this exclusive series which started in 2009 with the Special Edition created for the year of the Ox. This has been followed by the watches made in the year of the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the As in all the watches of the series, the new Luminor 1950 Sealand has a remarkable engraving on the steel cover of the dial, the subject being the Monkey. While the subject and style of the engraving are a tribute to ancient Chinese astrological tradition, the sophisticated technique used is the creation of highly skilled Italian craftsmen who make each individual cover entirely by hand, producing examples that are truly fascinating. The steel is first of all engraved with a special tool called a “sparsello”. Then threads of gold are inlaid in the grooves made in the steel; these are laid in multiple parallel layers and beaten until they completely fill the engraved outlines, thus embellishing the image of the monkey. The work demands extraordinary skill on the part of the craftsmen, because the threads of gold are embedded on the cover which has already been engraved and polished, so the smallest error could damage the work carried out earlier.

The case with the engraving of the monkey, on the inside of which is a little mirror, conceals a minimalist grey dial with a small seconds counter at 9 o’clock and a date window at 3 o’clock. The cover is fitted to a Luminor 1950 case (diameter 44 mm), which is made entirely of AISI 316L stainless steel with a brushed finish, as is the lever device which protects the winding crown. The watch has a Panerai in-house calibre: the automatic P.9000 calibre, with a power reserve of 3 days, an oscillating weight which rotates in both directions and the device for rapid setting of the time which also automatically changes the date. The Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciaio – 44mm (PAM00850), available exclusively in Panerai boutiques throughout the world, is water-resistant to 10 bar (a depth of about 100 metres) and it is supplied with a strap of soft brown leather, a spare strap, a screwdriver to replace and the special tool for interchangeability.