Introducing: The Panerai Luminor Tre Giorni

This new Panerai Luminor model delivers a clean aesthetic with a time-only sandwich dial, powered by Panerai’s P.3000 movement delivering three days of power through a manual wind movement, presented in a 47mm ‘patina’ finished 1950’s case on a brown leather strap.
An almost perfect watch from Panerai. Almost.

Panerai’s 1950 style case is a glorious mixture of curves and edges that create a unique case shape that simply stands out. Presented here in a matte / brushed finish it suits the utilitarian expectation of an Italian divers watch beautifully. The case is water resistant to 100m which is fine for everything but the most extreme activities.

The dial is a beautifully textured sandwich dial – the hue changes from the hands outwards darkening as the dial gets to the outside edge. The indices displaying a level of warmth which matches the hands and the lettering on the dial keeping things simple with just “Luminor Panerai” above the hands.

The open case back reveals the P.3000 – a manually wound movement with a three day power reserve, achieved through two barrels. The design and construction of the P.3000 calibre draw heavily from Panerai’s archival movements used in the 1960s, replicating the functional and aesthetic qualities of these vintage calibres.

The Panerai Luminor PAM01628 is supplied on an Italian brown leather strap with a secondary black rubber strap for more aquatic activities.

So why is it almost perfect – what’s wrong with it?

Unfortunately in this iteration, this 1950’s case doesn’t have Panerai’s push-button strap release system and instead relies on screwed pins. These are still very secure but wont allow the same ease for changing straps and can still lead to scratched lugs as Panerai’s flat screwdriver is notoriously sharp.

Secondly, while its water resistance is at least better than the Luminor Due (a model that you shouldn’t take anywhere near water – ironic for a who’s crown is protected by a patented protection device to prevent water ingress) and allows swimming and recreational activities, it doesn’t have the resistance that most traditional Luminor’s have of 300m.

However my main regret is that while I understand Panerai’s heritage for large watches, the 47mm size will alienate a lot of buyers to whom this is just too large to wear. Had this come in a 44mm 1950’s case, this would appeal to a much larger audience.