Even the last line of defence of the rebirth of Officine Panerai, the Panerai Luminor Logo (and its elder brother; the Luminor Marina Logo), has finally fallen, giving way to a new in-house built caliber. The Panerai Luminor Logo still remained the last Panerai to host the manual caliber of ETA (formerly Unitas) derivation, which marked the rebirth of the Italian brand and Panerai‘s fame in the early 2000s, when the brand finally put aside its military looks.
The Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Acciaio and the Panerai Luminor Marina Logo 3 Days Acciaio represent the most popular and most accessible Panerai timepieces and also the original spirit of the modern Luminor.
What was still missing was that leap in quality that would put the Logo versions on par, from a technical point of view, with the other collections; the introduction and widespread of in-house built calibers has moved all the collections to a much higher level.
References like the 372 and the 422 among the Luminor 1950 and the more modern versions of the Luminor (those that include the new Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Acciaio and the Panerai Luminor Marina Logo 3 Days Acciaio) can boast in-house built calibers with up to 8 days of power reserve and excellent features too.
The two versions debut a new caliber, called P6000, with 3 days of power reserve (a strictly manual winding caliber) with top-notch features, like the stop function of the balance wheel when the crown is pulled and many other constructive solutions that are, unfortunately, not visible in this case, such as the double-ended bridge of the balance wheel that guarantees an improved sturdiness.
Not too bad, considering that the Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Acciaio and the Panerai Luminor Marina Logo 3 Days Acciaio best represent the military spirit of the brand with their closed and fully flat case-back, and the same can be said of the OP logo printed on the dial, which turns from white to a (beautiful) blue color depending on the version.
Let’s try to summarize all the references for the Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Acciaio and for the Panerai Luminor Marina 3 Days Logo Acciaio, the PAM 773 reference sports a black dial and a white logo, the PAM 774 reference features a black dial and a blue logo, the PAM 775 reference features a white dial and a blue logo. We are talking about the new Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Acciaio.
The PAM 776 reference with its black dial and the white logo, the PAM 777 reference with a black dial and a blue logo, and, finally, the PAM 778 reference with a white dial and a blue logo represent the Panerai Luminor Marina Logo 3 Days Acciaio.
I find the the beige glowing dots on the two versions with a white dial quite beautiful, on the other hand, there are too many Arabic numbers, which, on a Panerai, should remain confined to the four cardinal points.
The main difference between the two collections lies in the continuous small seconds hand located at 9 o’clock, but it is not only that, because the straps introduce a new variant and, contrary to tradition, customize the two, in my opinion, most successful versions of the Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Acciaio and Panerai Luminor Marina Logo 3 Days Acciaio. I am referring to the PAM 774 and the PAM 777 references.
As the owner of a Panerai Luminor Marina Logo PAM 005, I believe that the fabric canvas strap with blue stitching in one case, and blue fabric in the other case, are the best options for the new Luminor Logo that, we should remember, still sports a traditional dial, rather than a sandwich one.
Retail prices and availability still have to be defined; the SIHH has just started and both of these two details will be confirmed during the press session. However, the first estimate solely based on the press material available is quite positive; the Luminor Logo is a simple watch and, after the elaborations of the latest years, we felt the need to go back to the real essence of Panerai.
We were missing that geometric simplicity that we were accustomed to and that represents the most natural link with the brand’s origins, when there were neither time, nor tourbillon and other complications that, today, instead represent state of the art characteristics.
(Photo credit: courtesy of Panerai)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
@Gaetano Cimmino
