Basic instinct – the Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days (PAM00775)

Time+Tide

Editor’s note: Panerai has been on a real Submersible kick this year, along with the lighter Due models — but it’s hard to go past the watch that started it all. And this watch, the Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days (PAM00775), really demonstrates why, as Sandra explains … 

Not a Radiomir to be seen this year at SIHH; lots of new Luminor Due variations (including a very good 38mm). However, with Angelo Bonati retiring in April from the brand he built from almost-zero to quite the hero, the halo piece has to be that most “Panerai” of all Panerais – the Luminor. Full-fat version, not the slimmed-down Due.

A lot of the new PAM00775 is quintessential Luminor and quite a lot is not. There’s the chunky 44mm brushed steel case – as hefty on the wrist as a tool watch should be; a design so strong and confident that the crown guard alone has made Luminor a modern icon. Engraving on the closed caseback includes 100m – reference to the water-resistance.

There’s the classic numerals font – the “closed 6 and 9” version – and the simple white printed dial, devoid of all decoration except the OP logo (in blue here; in white on other versions). The 00775 is the base two-hand version, without even the small seconds register of the Marina variant. You don’t get a sandwich dial, unfortunately (when you read down and see the price you’ll know why) but the numerals are thickly painted with beige-toned lume that becomes so bright that it practically jumps off the surface in the dark.

While all of these elements represent what has made Luminor great for so long, this watch also represents future Panerai. The movement, P.6000, is a completely new in-house calibre, manually wound and delivering 72 hours of power reserve. And it marks the end of Panerai’s use of ETA movements. Once the existing pieces in production are completed, say Panerai, all movements will be made internally. That’s big news. It’s not to suggest that there’s anything inferior about ETA movements – they are the most well-proven workhorses, reliable, robust, accurate and all – but for Bonati to have taken Panerai from a bit of history and just an idea two decades ago to a completely autonomous manufacture is a pretty huge achievement.

If white dials and leather straps aren’t your speed, there’s also a black-dialled option, and some good-looking new textile strap options. And then, there’s the price: $6450. Or add a little more and you get the Marina version with small seconds display. That means this full-blown, in-house Luminor is in the same price range as the previous ETA incarnation. We approve.

Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Luminor Acciaio (PAM00775) Australian pricing

Panerai Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Luminor Acciaio (PAM00775), $6450