The Panerai Luminor 8 Days Set PAM786 isn’t the first experiment by the brand to bring together under one reference two limited-series timepieces. Two years ago Panerai presented its reference 785 that was quite similar to this one and was made up of two Luminor watches, this reference was also the very first attempt that the brand had made to bring back to life some of its most recent history.
The modern time of OFFICINE PANERAI officially restarted in 1993 when the first samples of the Luminor watch were distributed to the public and those ones belonging to this period are of remarkable interest to those who collect OFFICINE PANERAI’s watches.
All the timepieces that have been crafted from that year onwards are generally classified as “Pre–Vendome” timepieces and it wasn’t until 1997, that the brand was officially acquired by the Richemont Group that, at the time, was still known as the Vendôme Group.
The result is that the few models that were produced in those years have reached an incredible value as collectibles and they have been so successful that they nowadays represent a case history in the world of collecting if we consider the relatively young age of the brand although with a fascinating history, the scarce availability of these timepieces and a very personal style.
The Panerai Luminor 8 Days Set PAM786 is made up of the Panerai Luminor Black Seal Left-handed 8 Days Acciaio DLC and the Panerai Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio, two timepieces that draw inspiration from two models originally conceived for actor Sylvester Stallone, a friend of the brand.
This is the first time that OFFICINE PANERAI has put together in a single limited edition a version for left-handed people and a so-called “standard” version, 500 box sets in total have been released. The Panerai Luminor Black Seal Left-handed 8 Days Acciaio DLC features a stainless steel case that measures 44mm and is coated with DLC or “Diamond Like Carbon”, a thin layer of carbon with a diamond-made structure that makes this timepiece extremely resistant to scratches.
The Panerai Luminor Black Seal Left-handed 8 Days Acciaio DLC’s case is crafted in a matted and smooth black colour with a vague accent of gray hue that perfectly matches the deep black colour of the dial and the vintage Super-Luminova-filled indexes.
This timepiece has a military look that is extremely simple, the same as on the first Panerai watches, the dial is not a sandwich one but it is rather made up of a single block where the indexes have been directly applied while the religiously-sealed case-back features two engravings; the historic “OP” logo and the “OFFICINE PANERAI Firenze” writing.
The buckle is testing ground for the brand’s specialists since it is directly sewn to the strap – the Ponte Vecchio in the collection of straps from the brand – therefore it is not replaceable. The geometric shape of the pin buckle is the same as the original Black Seal’s and it also features an engraved “OP” logo on the left hand side. The Panerai Luminor Daylight 8 Days Acciaio gets its name from a timepiece that was used by Sylvester Stallone during the shooting of the movie “Daylight” in 1996.
The timepiece sports a white dial and blue indexes and hands and clearly draws inspiration from the prototypes of reference 5218-207/A. The beauty of this version lies in the original coupling of a white dial and blue Arabic numbers and indexes that are characterized by a thinner and different font than that of the original plumpy and larger number 12 that appears on the dial of a traditional Luminor. Moreover, a group of twelve small embossed dots cover the entire ring between the indexes and the inner edge of the case.
Both timepieces are equipped with the in-house-built P5000 manual caliber that guarantees up to 8 days of power reserve, two characteristics that we take for granted when it comes to a Panerai watch and a combo that is objectively difficult to find somewhere else: the beauty of a hand-wound caliber coupled with a strong power reserve. The Panerai Luminor 8 Days Set PAM786 contains the two Luminor timepieces, a publication about the Royal Italian Navy, a scale model of slow–cruising manned torpedo (SLC = “Siluro a Lenta Corsa” in Italian), and a double replacement strap.
The Panerai Luminor 8 Days box set is the second limited-edition box set that takes inspiration from the “Pre–Vendome” period. After the last two years that have seen the manufacturer open its historic archives, the brand now specializes in bringing back to life the most recent chapter in its history and in devoting itself to the Luminor collection. The new Panerai Daylight is the best Luminor watch with a white dial that has ever been designed in my opinion and a possible taste, I hope, of what Panerai might come up with in the near future. The box set retails at about 21,000 euro because, when it comes to luxury, the concept of “bundled pricing” unfortunately doesn’t apply!
(Photo credit: Horbiter®)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
@Gaetano Cimmino
