BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Panerai’s Luminor Marina- does it change? Does it need to? Naturally, it does change a bit over time, but it’s a winning formula for the Italian-founded brand, so it makes sense not to stray too far from that combination.
The Luminor Marina PAM01707 introduces a 44mm x 14.5mm case with 300m of water resistance for true utility. It’s made from Carbotech, which is Panerai’s proprietary carbon case construction. Panerai uses sheets of carbon fibre bonded with a special resin under high heat and pressure to form a solid case. As well as being super light (80% lighter than stainless steel and 64% lighter than titanium), it’s also very tough, according to Panerai, although as it’s proprietary, we do have to take their word on that one.
But Carbotech isn’t exactly new at this point, and there don’t seem to be many horror stories or controversies over it. Another benefit is that, despite being around for a long time, the method of making the sheets of carbon into the solid case means that small random formations happen in the material’s pattern, so every Carbotech case’s pattern is unique to that watch. Panerai’s unique crown guard is used here to secure the crown tightly.
The matte black dial follows the traditional Panerai look, being a “sandwich” style dial where the dial you see sits above another plate with beige-coloured lume, creating depth. As ever, the dial is extremely simple and legible, with simple hands and stick markers and some Arabic numerals for the 12, 3, 6 and 9 markers. Behind that simple dial and behind a DLC-coated titanium caseback sits the self-winding calibre P.9010, which has 31 jewels, a 4Hz beat rate and a 72-hour power reserve provided by two series-connected barrels. Interestingly, Panerai’s website claims that the hacking seconds function, which stops the balance when the crown is pulled for precise time setting, is present. Previously, it was removed even though it was there when the P.9010 initially replaced the P.9000; I’ve been worried about them taking shortcuts like that. I was also left wanting by the movement’s finishing standards in the past, but I’m unable to see if those have improved thanks to the closed caseback.
The watch ships on a brown leather strap featuring Panerai’s trapezoidal-shaped buckle, which in this case is made from titanium and is black DLC-coated. A complimentary black rubber strap is also included, so you can take the Luminor Marina with you when you go to the beach, the pool, or wherever you desire. The price for one of these is $15,600.
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