Panerai’s Latest Release Is a Collector’s Dream Come True

Panerai has one of the most unique and intriguing backstories in a watch industry filled with deep, but somewhat repetitive histories.

Giovanni Panerai established a workshop that included watchmaking and repair in 1860, and eventually opened Florence’s first horological school in 1876. The brand became a contractor to the Royal Italian Navy in 1916, producing a range of underwater and nautical instruments, including wearable depth meters and compasses.

Panerai

It was in this capacity that Panerai developed and patented Radiomir, a radium-based paint that glows in low-light conditions, aka lume. The name lives on in the Radiomir collection, based on the brand’s earliest military dive watches from the 1930s.

Panerai is offering a new travel experience dubbed Viaggio Nel Tempo, which translates to “time travel.” It consists of a four-day guided tour of Florence that details the brand’s rich history and the development of its earliest dive watch technology, culminating in a “diving experience” in Porto Venere.

What’s more, the trip is fittingly packaged with two unique Radiomir references unavailable anywhere else.

Panerai

Launched to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Panerai’s Piazza San Giovanni boutique in Florence, the curated vacation and two-watch package offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Paneristi, as the brand’s most avid fans call themselves.

Both exclusive Radiomir references are faithful to archival mil-spec designs from the 1930s and 1940s, while offering novel executions worthy of the brand’s modern luxury status.

California bronze rush

The Radiomir reference PAM01729 presents a 47mm version of the collection’s distinctive cushion case in bronze made from pure copper and pure tin. This untreated alloy allows the bronze to develop a natural patina as it has for thousands of years.

Panerai

It features a California dial, distinguished by Roman numerals for the upper half and Arabic numerals for the lower half, which was designed by Rolex in the early 1940s. Panerai was the second brand to feature the highly legible design with the Rolex-produced reference 3646 Kampfschimmer in 1944.

Since the Crown abandoned the California dial shortly thereafter, save for brief use by Tudor, Panerai has become the spiritual grandfather of the coveted design. The origin of the name is shrouded in mystery, but the Italian watchmaker credits it to a dial restoration company in the American state that popularized the design after World War II.

The steel hour and minute hands are heat-blued to increase visibility against the black dial and up the corrosion resistance. Two segments on the hour hand and one segment on the minute hand are filled with beige Super-LumiNova. The dial is capped with a domed Plexiglass crystal.

Panerai

Opposite the dial is a titanium caseback ring holding a sapphire crystal, allowing full view of the in-house Caliber P.3000 hand-wound movement. Two barrels pack a three-day power reserve, a system developed by Panerai in the 1930s to reduce wear on the crown.

Going platinum

The other half of the Radiomir Viaggio Nel Tempo Experience is the Ref. PAM01730. It uses the same 47mm cushion case, but made of proprietary Platinumtech, an alloy consisting of 95 percent pure platinum.

The metal boasts an 85-percent increase in hardness and scratch resistance compared to standard platinum, while retaining the desired luster. Weighing 33 percent more than 18-karat gold, it makes for a hefty watch.

Panerai

Panerai’s signature sandwich dial, developed in 1938 for enhanced underwater legibility, is presented for the first time with a black radial brushing, giving the appearance of a vinyl record. It uses the familiar cardinal numerals, with swirling six and nine, separated by dash hour markers.

The same heat-blued hands and Plexiglass crystal as the reference PAM01729 are used, and Radiomir Panerai is engraved on the dial plate below the 12:00 hour marker.

It is powered by the more modern, skeletonized Caliber P.3001/10 hand-wound movement. While it offers the same three-day power reserve, it does so in a flashier manner, visible through a sapphire crystal exhibition caseback.

Availability and price

Both watches come on brown leather straps, calfskin for the bronze reference and alligator for the Platinumtech version, with case-matching pin buckles. Each watch is equipped with historically faithful wireframe lugs, which are removable with small screws.

Panerai’s Viaggio Nel Tempo Experience and accompanying watches will be available for purchase in June 2026, and the package is limited to 30 individuals. Pricing is set at $165,000, which is a good sight more than your average Florentine sightseeing trip.

Panerai

Panerai Radiomir Viaggio Nel Tempo Experience

Specs

Case Size	47mm
Movement	Panerai Caliber P.3000/P.3001-10 hand-wound
Water Resistance	100m

• $165,000 at Panerai

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