The new Panerai Luminor Tourbillon PAM01784 stands out with its openworked display, showcasing a skeletonised hand-wound movement equipped with a horizontal tourbillon, a GMT function, and a six-day power reserve.
At the centre of the watch is the P.2005/T calibre, a skeletonised mechanical movement measuring 10.05 mm in thickness, previously featured in the Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT PAM767 “Lo Scienziato”.
Operating at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour), it comprises 277 components and 31 jewels, with a Glucydur balance and an Incabloc shock-protection system.
Its blue Grade 5 titanium bridges and plates reduce weight while providing a visual link between the movement and the case material.
The calibre provides a power reserve of 144 hours, supplied by three spring barrels connected in series. Their combined mainspring length is 1.36 metres, and the movement can be fully wound with 68 turns of the crown.
The arrangement is based on a patented Panerai construction in which the third barrel is positioned laterally alongside the other two, engaging directly with the toothing of one of them without increasing the movement’s overall thickness.
The tourbillon of this model differs from a conventional construction in both its rotation speed and orientation. Its cage completes one rotation every 30 seconds rather than the usual 60 seconds and rotates on an axis perpendicular to that of the balance.
This horizontal arrangement is designed to compensate for rate variations associated with gravity. According to Panerai, assembling the cage requires seven times longer than assembling a simple movement.
The openworked dial allows the wearer to observe the tourbillon, gear train and three barrels in operation. Rather than being mounted on a conventional dial plate, the numerals and hour markers are assembled directly on the rehaut, leaving the movement to define the visual structure.
A grid motif across the exposed mechanism recalls the net barriers once placed beneath naval vessels, through which Italian Navy frogmen passed during underwater missions.
The functions are arranged around this open architecture. Hours and minutes are displayed centrally, while a small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock incorporates a tourbillon indicator that rotates at the same speed as the cage.
The angular power reserve indicator follows the movement’s outer radius and uses a dedicated mechanism comprising more than 20 components, including a miniature ball differential with three balls measuring 0.5 mm each.
The GMT function is designed for travellers. The local hour hand can be moved forwards or backwards in one-hour increments without stopping the watch or disturbing the GMT hand.
Linked to the date, the mechanism allows local time to be adjusted while home time remains visible through a 12-hour GMT hand and a 24-hour indication. When the wearer is not travelling, the local and home-time hands can be aligned.
Colour also helps distinguish the indications. Orange accents mark the GMT, AM/PM and power reserve displays, while Super-LumiNova provides visibility in low light.
The 47 mm case is made from brushed Grade 5 titanium, with polished surfaces and Panerai’s characteristic crown-protecting bridge.
Grade 5 titanium is both lighter and harder than stainless steel, and its use for the case, bridges and plates brings the watch’s total weight to approximately 105 grams. Water resistance is rated to 10 bar, equivalent to 100 metres / 330 feet.
A domed sapphire crystal protects the openworked movement. Its curved profile recalls the appearance of Panerai watches from the 1960s, including reference 6152/1, and changes the perception of the numerals and mechanism as the viewing angle shifts.
The crystal also marks the first use of a domed sapphire construction in this high-complication configuration within the Panerai collection.
The PAM01784 is supplied with a blue alligator leather strap fitted with a titanium adjustable buckle, alongside a second blue rubber strap with a pin buckle. It is presented in a blue-finished cherry wood box that also includes a screwdriver for changing the buckle.
The Panerai Luminor Tourbillon PAM01784 retails at €160,000 (including taxes) / US$155,100 (before sales taxes). panerai.com
