Introducing Panerai Honours The Pre-Vendôme Luminor With A Smaller 42mm Offering (Live Pics)

Photos by Nick Kenyon

Don't call it a comeback—they've been here for years, but if today's release is any indication, Panerai seems on the verge of "having a moment," or whatever you'd call it in a hyper-masculine, intensely Italian way. The feedback for a while, even from people who love the brand, is that the brand (which was at the forefront or even progenitor of the large watch trend that dominated the early 2000s) hadn't adapted as well or as quickly as big watch brands. Size was one sticking point; price another. Privately, I have heard multiple people say that if Panerai could fight it out closer to Tudor pricing, they'd be printing money at a new clip. Today, the brand is showing that it's listening, with three new (and newly smaller) 42mm Luminors at an attractive price.

Let's go back to 1993, to the pre-Vendôme days of Panerai. (Editor's Note: For those who are out of the loop, "pre-Vendôme" refers to the period between September 1993 and March 1997, before the Vendôme Group, now known as Richemont, acquired Panerai and after the brand was revived in its modern form.) Brand representatives stood aboard the Italian destroyer D-560 Durand de la Penne to revive the Luminor's design language—the big case, bold numerals, and unusual crown lock—and bring it to a civilian audience. The original references, Luminor ref. 5218-201/A and Luminor Marina Militare ref. 5218-202/A, became collectible icons. The latter was revived last year with the PAM05218, in a 44mm case with a new automatic movement.

If you looked closely at that calibre—the P.980 with hours, minutes, and hacking seconds—you'd see it was small enough to fit in an even smaller case. Yes, it's similar in architecture to a few in-group IWC and Baume & Mercier movements, but it's still quite solid, with a 72-hour power reserve and 1.8mm thinner than the preceding P.9010. Which means that you could expect this move to a new 42mm by 13.8mm case. Yes, it's a bit thick, but that's kind of the point with Panerai still, and it has a 500m water resistance, though now with a solid caseback.

The watch doesn't have a "sandwich" dial, instead going with matte black or green dials on brushed and polished stainless steel cases, or a matte blue dial on a steel case with black DLC coating, all featuring beige (vintage-y) Super-LumiNova. All three watches come on canvas/fabric straps with the brand's signature pin buckle to match the case material and treatment. But the case has been downsized, and so has the price. The new 42mm Luminors run A$10,500 to A$12,100—the latter ostensibly for the DLC-coated case. That puts them A$2,000 to A$4,000 cheaper than the 44mm versions or the Marina Militare reissue.

To my eyes, this is a fantastic release from Panerai. Any release from the brand is going to be divisive—some people will wish this was still 44mm, some will still find 42mm too large—but this feels like the Goldilocks release in just about every way. The updated movement's reduced thickness makes this an immensely wearable watch with intense (overkill, frankly) water resistance. Same with the price, which at A$12,100 is A$2,200 less than the 44mm version from last year (and less for the non-DLC model!)

Will people (myself included) wish it was closer to the Pelagos 39 or original Pelagos in price? Sure, but it's not that far off either, and way more value than last year's release.

The use of the display caseback on the 44mm version was probably a net negative in the eyes of a lot of buyers—if the recent Rolex Padellone release was not appealing enough to the eyes for some buyers, an automatic and machine-finished Panerai probably isn't either—so the shift to a solid caseback is welcome. I've always thought display casebacks at this price point are more for the general consumer who wants the visual reassurance, so to speak, that they have a mechanical watch, whereas enthusiasts don't always need it. Especially for a watch like this, which is now as tough as a tool watch can get and pretty darn near perfect.

Brand: Panerai
Model: Luminor
Reference Number: PAM01710; PAM01711; PAM01714
Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 13.8mm
Case Material: Polished and brushed stainless steel or black DLC-coated stainless steel
Dial Colour: Matte black, green, or blue
Indexes: Printed beige Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 500m
Strap/Bracelet: Beige, green, or blue canvas with tone-on-tone stitching and trapezoidal brushed steel pin buckle

Calibre: Panerai P.980
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds with stop-balance function
Diameter: 28.2mm
Thickness: 4.2mm
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Jewels: 23
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: A$10,500 to A$12,100
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No

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