Radiomir Base - Pink Gold

The story continues…

The Watch Quote™ - February 23rd, 2006

The classic “cushion” case, used for the first watches made exclusively for the Royal Italian Navy, now incorporates a concentration of innovations which demonstrate the technical content of Panerai’s contemporary production. The watch’s water-resistance is guaranteed to a depth of 100 metres, thanks to its screw back (bearing the inscription “OFFICINE PANERAI - FIRENZE 1860”) and screw-down winding crown. Incredibly tough for a classic sports watch, the sapphire crystal protecting the dial is 1.9 millimetres thick while the alligator skin strap is secured to the case by removable wire loop strap attachments, patented by Panerai.

The case, 45 millimetres in diameter, contains the Panerai calibre OP X, a tried and tested hand-wound movement of outstanding beauty which is further enhanced by the quality of finish that is characteristic of haute horlogerie: côtes de Genève decoration and blued screws. On the balance cock there is a “swan-neck” micrometer screw index device which enables the effective length of the spiral to be changed very precisely, so that the rate can be adjusted with extreme accuracy.

The absence of the small seconds dial at 9 o’clock, a feature which is characteristic of many Officine Panerai models, emphasises the essentiality and purity of the black dial, dominated by the baton hour and minute hands, together with the large Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock separated by baton-shaped hour markers. The Radiomir Base in pink gold presents a further example of the technological heritage of Panerai’s history: the “sandwich” type of dial. To ensure the maximum visibility of the markers and hands under poor lighting conditions, the dial was constructed of two plates superimposed on each other, the upper one being perforated with numerals and hour markers while the lower plate was coated with a layer of the luminous substance Radiomir, a compound of zinc sulphide, radium bromide and mesothorium developed by Panerai when it was first pioneering its watches. This substance was subsequently replaced by Luminor, then by tritium and recently by Super-LumiNova®, a material of the latest generation which ensures optimum legibility even in the dark.