Panerai Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica Watch

Published by Pierre-Paul Godts

 

 

 

Lo Scienziato – Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica

“Lo Scienziato” is one of the many sobriquets earned by Galileo Galilei in the course of his long life entirely devoted to research into extending the boundaries of human knowledge through scientific learning. His discoveries had a revolutionary impact on the development of mechanical timekeeping, which would not be as it is today without Galileo’s formulation of the law of isochronism of the pendulum.

Officine Panerai’s link with “Lo Scienzato” is founded on this and reinforced by the Tuscan origins they have in common. Now it is expressed in the Florentine brand’s new tribute to Galileo: Lo Scienziato – Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica, a watch of remarkable technical content with costly finishing, a demonstration of the depth of technical horological knowledge that exists in the Manufacture in Neuchâtel.

Thanks to the extensive work of skilful skeletonisation and the sapphire crystal porthole in the back, the P.2005/S hand-wound movement with tourbillon escapement, entirely developed and produced in the Officine Panerai Manufacture, is in full view. The plates, barrels and bridges have been skeletonised so that every internal detail can be seen, and most of the components have been galvanically blackened to harmonise perfectly with the colour of the case. The most fascinating element of the P.2005/S calibre, both technically and visually, is the tourbillon cage which makes two rotations per minute on an axis at right angles to that of the balance, providing the best possible compensation for errors of rate caused by gravity. A small disc covered with ecru Super-LumiNova® displays the rotation of the tourbillon on the dial side, making two revolutions per minute within the small seconds dial. The calibre consists of 277 components and has three barrels, providing a power reserve of a good six days. This power reserve is indicated on the back of the movement.

The P.2005/S also has the second time zone function, with a central hand and day/night indication on an auxiliary dial at 3 o’clock, and the system for the rapid setting of local time, which enables the hour hand to move in jumps of one hour at a time without interfering with the movement of the minute hand or the running of the watch.

For the first time, the P.2005/S calibre is housed in a Luminor 1950 case with a diameter of 48 mm, made of black ceramic based on zirconium oxide, a technically very advanced material which provides lightness, toughness and corrosion resistance. In line with the history of Panerai, a brand associated with the sea since its origins, Lo Scienziato – Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica is water-resistant and it is tested to withstand a pressure of 10 atmospheres (about 100 metres).

Lo Scienziato – Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica (PAM00528) is supplied with a strap of natural, untreated leather, fastened by an adjustable buckle in blackened steel. The special presentation case in which it is sold also contains a second black leather strap and a screwdriver.