DELIGHTFUL DERIVATIVE
The revolutionary Panerai P.2005 watch movement set a standard for diving watches, thanks to world-reknowned accuracy, a GMT function, manual winding and three spring barrels that accumulates enough energy to operate the watch for at least six days.
One delightful derivative of this calibre (the movement of the watch) is the Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT 47 MM Titanium. This watch combines tradition, sports qualities and exclusivity, along with durability characterized by a strong yet light case created in Grade Two titanium.
The new Luminor is distinguished in particular by the tourbillon, a device invented by horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet at the end of the 18th century in order to eliminate errors of rate (faster or slower variations in time indication) caused by changes in the center of gravity, inaccurate workmanship, the thickening of the lubricating oil and the consequent varying friction in the different positions assumed by the watch. 
Luminor 1950 tourbillon gmt 47 mm titanium (Pam306)To do this, Breguet made a cage containing the balance, escapement and related pivots which rotated continuously on its own axis. In this way the deviation which was found when the balance was in a particular position was cancelled out once the balance was in the opposite position. For more than two centuries synonymous with great difficulty of construction and in recent years adopted only in wristwatch models of the highest quality, the tourbillon has fascinated generations of enthusiasts and constitutes an important challenge for many engineers.
The challenge to Panerai was to create a watch incorporating tourbillon technology, yet present the Italian company’s own unique take on the French timepiece feature. In traditional tourbillons the cage with the balance rotates on a plane perpendicular to that of the base of the movement and it usually makes one complete rotation each minute. In this Luminor, however, the cage rotates on an axis parallel to the base of the movement. Furthermore, it makes two revolutions per minute and this (combined with the particular arrangement of the cage itself) makes Panerai’s take on the innovation better adapted to compensate for running errors due to position, which in a wristwatch are very much more numerous than those found in a pocket watch.
Watching fascinating technology such as a tourbillon won’t mean a thing if you don’t have the transparent glass with which to gaze through and admire it. This Luminor variant has a back with a large sapphire crystal window, and the distinct Panerai Luminor case that contains a lever device protecting the winding crown. The Grade 2 titanium finish enables the case and the bridge of the lever device to have a brushed finish with a contrasting mirrorpolished finish for the bezel (in Grade 5 titanium).
With a diameter of 47 mm and water-resistant to 100 meters (as befits the marine orientation of the watch), the watch contains a sapphire crystal two millimeters thick and an anti-reflective coating. This protects the dial which is itself very distinctive with its elegant dark brown background, instead of the black of traditional models.
With its sandwich construction (another Panerai innovation) the dial has large hour markers and Arabic numerals cut through the upper plate and it is particularly visible in darkness as a result of the substantial quantity of luminous material contained between the two plates. The wide baton hour and minute hands contrast with the thinner hand of the GMT function (tipped with an arrow point) which indicates the time in the second time zone.
Normally derivatives of a popular product tend to dilute the “wow” factor produced by the original, but the 
Luminor GMT 44mm (PAM297)Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT 47 MM Titanium is an exception. Its features make it as every titanium bit as good as the very P.2005 technology that spawned the watch.
CALIBRE 44
Panerai Luminor watches have always been of good calibre. Or caliber. And beefing up its Luminor line of the utmost caliber is the Panerai Luminor GMT 44 MM.
This Luminor has enough ammunition to wow even the most jaded watch aficionado with a 44 mm diameter case that faithfully reproduces that of its predecessors, yet still makes the exclusive bridge surrounding the crown still stand out. When the lever is raised the crown is freed, enabling the hands to be adjusted. But when it is lowered the crown is pressed strongly against the caseband and a series of seals which prevent any infiltration of water to a depth of 300 meters. Also, the caseband and the lever bridge have a brushed finish while the bezel has been mirror-polished, thus creating an effect of contrast and depth between the various parts.
This effect also appears on the new bracelet, which is designed to emphasize the aesthetics of the watch by conforming in harmony with the case. The links of the bracelet are partly brushed finish and partly polished, but the innovation does not stop there. To give it a softness equivalent to a leather strap, the bracelet has been modelled in a very particular way; the links are asymmetrical and are worked with a double curved surface – rounded longitudinally as well as laterally. Pleasant to the touch and comfortable on the wrist, the bracelet looks as if it had been designed at the same time as the case, the lines of which it continues without interruption in an ideal manner; in addition the satinfinished links are mirror-polished at the points of contact, so again it has the same contrasting effect as the case itself. The new bracelet, however, is not going to displace the previous one, nor the leather or rubber straps; it is easily interchangeable with these, thus giving the client a further possible choice.
The Luminor line has always had watches of good calibre, but the inclusion of the Panerai Luminor GMT 44 MM adds strong ammunition to an already bolstered lineup.
SPORTY YET LIGHT ON THE SKIN
A growing number of those who wear diving watches claim that as the calendar rolls along, the cases of their respective timepieces tend to irritate the wrist’s skin.
The Panerai Luminor 1950 Crono Monopulsante in Titanium solves that problem. Innovative yet at the same time traditional, with an advanced mechanical movement and a “getup” which for years has stood out for its originality and functionality, the watch is executed in a very light, very strong hypo-allergenic metal that is highly resistant to corrosion. Its 44 mm case and executed in Grade Two titanium with a brushed finish for the caseband and the bridge of the lever device locking the crown, and a Grade Five titanium mirror-polished surface for the bezel. Water-resistant to 100 meters, a peculiarity of the watch is that the single chronograph push-piece is on the left; 
Luminor crono monopulsante in titanium (pam311)this position has been chosen so as not to alter the outline of the case dominated by the lever bridge, as well as to facilitate the operation of the chronograph with the right hand.
The Crono Monopulsante contains the P.2004 chronograph calibre, watch movement technology completely designed and executed by Panerai in its own headquarters at Neuchâtel. P.2004 has 29 jewels, measures 16 lignes in diameter and is fitted with a stop-seconds device. When the winding crown is pulled out, this instantly zeroes the small seconds hand which stops and does not start moving again until the winding crown is returned to its normal position, thus enabling the watch to be synchronised to the exact second. Manual winding with a power reserve of eight days, linear indication of the power reserve remaining, a second time zone with day/night indication, stop-seconds device for exact synchronization and a single-button chronograph with column wheel and friction clutch are among its other many innovations.
Of the various functions of the watch, the one that stands out most from the rest is that of the chronograph. This does not have two push-buttons, like the majority of other models in production, but just a single one which, pressed in sequence, controls the starting, stopping and zeroing of the central hand. The minute counter (at three o’clock) has been designed to avoid any confusion in reading what it indicates; it does not move slowly and continuously but instantaneously, that is, it jumps one position as it is released on exactly the 60th second of each minute.
Another very important and useful function is the second time zone, which is classically displayed by a second central hand tipped with an arrow point. This hand, which like the hour hand is adjusted by turning the crown, rotates once in 12 hours. But how does one know whether the hour indicated is during the day or the night? Is it five in the morning or five in the afternoon, given that there are 24 hours in the day? To supply this useful further information there is a little triangular hand, coaxial with the small continuous seconds leaf hand in the subsidiary dial at three o’clock, which as it rotates moves from the pm 
Luminor regatta chronograph 44 mm (Pam308)(post meridiem, or after midday) sector “pm” to the am (ante meridiem, before midday) sector, thus indicating whether the time in the second time zone is during the day.
This unique Panerai Luminor watch is sporty but soothing on the human skin that nestles itself under its fine case.
NOT JUST FOR MEN
The trouble with most Panerai Luminor watches is that the watch itself and its look of largeness make it exclusively a men’s watch. Well, specifically, those with thick wrists.
Panerai realizes this problem and came up with the Luminor Cronograph 40 MM PAM310. Derived from the classic Luminors with 44-47 mm diameter cases, the Cronograph 40 MM PAM310 has a reduced diameter case (40 mm) that enables the watch to be worn comfortably by women and those with small wrists. But the case’s design is no different in terms of style by the other Luminor models, created in stainless steel and recognisable immediately by the large lever device protecting the winding crown. This device ensures that the crown is perfectly water-resistant; when the lever is moved downwards the crown is pressed against the caseband, there is no infiltration. But when the lever is raised, the crown is free to be moved, enabling the time to be set.
With the back secured by screws, the watch is water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters, with a two way finish. The bezel is mirror-polished while the caseband, the bridge of the lever device and the chronograph push-pieces (inserted obliquely in the caseband) are satinfinished, thus creating a sophisticated effect of contrast and depth between the different surfaces.
The dial has a traditional black background against which the two large strongly luminous Arabic numerals stand out very prominently, as do the hour markers, which are accompanied by small Arabic numerals for reference. Also luminous (from a graphic point of view) are the hour markers that form a perfect visual complement to the hour and minute hands, while the central chronograph hand has at its point a small leaf-shaped luminous element – like the little hands of the two subsidiary dials. These dials are, respectively, the continuous small seconds dial (at nine o’clock) and the minute counter (at three o’clock) which records the time that has elapsed since the start of the chronograph measurement.
With the Panerai Luminor Cronograph 40 MM PAM310, any gender can enjoy the Panerai watch wearing/time-telling experience.