VIDEO: Panerai’s Luminor Due collection – one of the biggest surprises of SIHH 2018

Felix Scholz

If you had said to me, on the eve of SIHH 2018, that the one brand I would be most surprised by at SIHH would be Panerai, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you. Panerai have gotten to where they are today by following the sort of slow and steady product development path that luxury and timeless style is built upon.

Next thing you know, I’m in the Panerai press presentation, quietly losing my mind (and not because of the incredible Lo Scienziato). No, I’m losing it because Panerai’s 2018 line-up is dominated not by the big, bold 45mm watches I’ve come to expect, but instead by more delicate 38 and 42mm cases — the latest members of the Luminor Due family.

While the significant expansion of the Due line included some 45mm options, including the mesmerisingly handsome GMT, it was the smaller 42 and 38mm options that really got people talking. And not just because the 38mm is the smallest PAM to date, but because these watches make Panerai a viable option for people who might not before have considered them an option.

Don’t be fooled by the small case sizes though, these watches pack just as much of a punch as their larger brethren, with three days of power reserve offering real-world practicality, and that guard ensures on-the-wrist oomph. So if you’re looking for a watch that offers dive heritage in a decidedly dressy package, the Due — now in a wide range of sizes and styles — could be the one (or is that uno?) for you.