Style, elegance, and functionality come together in Panerai’s brilliant reinterpretation of the tourbillon for its Luminor 1950 – with more to offer than might at first meet the eye.
At the dawn of the third millennium, cult brand Panerai made the most of its arrival in the Richemont Group to embark on an intense period of transformation and growth. The year 2002 marked a key milestone, with the opening of the brand’s first Swiss manufacture in Neuchâtel. This was followed by the presentation of several in-house movements – and in 2007, Panerai unveiled its first tourbillon, with the P.2005 calibre, housed in the Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT.
An unusual axis of rotation for a Tourbillon
A brand with such an assertive identity as Panerai was bound to have a distinctive take on such a great watchmaking classic and technical masterpiece as the tourbillon, and the Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT fully lives up to expectations in this respect from both an aesthetic and a technical point of view, with a contemporary movement sporting innovative, atypical features. For one thing, the tourbillon cage has an unusual axis of rotation: parallel to the base of the movement and at right angles to the oscillation axis of the balance. There’s also fact that while most tourbillon cages complete one rotation per minute, the P.2005 calibre does so every 30 seconds. Not only is this rate spectacular, but it also delivers more efficient compensation for inaccuracies due to changes of position, much more frequent with wristwatches than for pocket watches. The entrancing ballet performed by this very special tourbillon is an elegant touch, visible only from the rear of the watch through the sapphire crystal caseback, which also reveals a power-reserve indicator. And what a power reserve: the three barrels arrayed in series provide a hefty autonomy of up to 6 days when fully wound. The large movement, 37.2mm in diameter and 9.1mm thick, boasts no fewer than 243 components, including 31 jewels.
Style, elegance and functionality
On the dial side, the Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT remains true to the firm’s guiding philosophy, combining style and functionality. At first glance, the model resembles any other Panerai. The iconic Luminor case proudly sports the characteristic crown protector, now very much a hallmark of its identity. The lugs are machined from the same block of steel as the cushion-shaped frame. The solid, 47mm-diameter case is made from satin polished AISI 316L stainless steel. The flat, broad bezel encloses a 2mm-thick sapphire crystal. Last but not least, the piece is guaranteed water-resistant to 100m, in keeping with the brand’s pedigree.
The black dial features an innovative sandwich construction that is also one of the Italian brand’s main style signatures. It comprises two plates, one on top of the other. The lower plate is covered with luminous material, while the upper plate is openworked, forming and displaying the various indications, including the hour-markers and large Arabic numerals, effortlessly readable in all conditions. In the middle, the baton-type hours and minutes hands are accompanied by a thinner GMT hand. The counter at 9 o’clock combines a seconds hand and a small blue circular indicator – the only feature on the dial hinting at the presence of a tourbillon. Linked to the regulator, this rotates twice as fast as the seconds hand, completing a lap of the dial every 30 seconds. At 3 o’clock, the hand pointing to the ‘am’ and ‘pm’ markings serves as a day-night indicator for the second time zone.
The Panerai Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT presented here is reference PAM00276, a 100-piece limited edition, individually numbered on the case and movement. It’s fitted with an alligator strap, fastened by a sturdy steel Panerai pin buckle, and comes in a presentation box complete with a second leather strap, a screwdriver, as well as a special tool for swapping out the strap.
*This year GMT Magazine and WorldTempus have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years of the Tourbillon in The Millennium Watch Book - Tourbillons, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book - Tourbillons is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English.
