HH Magazine

The development and application of innovative materials represent one of the frontiers of technical evolution faced by haute horologerie as a daily challenge. In the context of this research activity, in 2010 Officine Panerai introduced Panerai Composite, a synthetic ceramic created by the electro-chemical process of ceramization of aluminium, a material remarkable for its characteristics of hardness and lightness. Panerai Composite has a high resistance to scratches and high temperatures, but it also very comfortable to wear, with a matt appearance which gives the watch a particular sports elegance.

The technology of Panerai Composite is combined with the 1930s appeal of the classic Radiomir cushion case in the new Radiomir Composite® 3 Days – 47mm and the Radiomir Composite® Black Seal 3 Days Automatic – 45mm, two models with movements completely designed and created by Officine Panerai in the manufacture of Neuchâtel.

The Radiomir Composite® 3 Days – 47mm (PAM00504) has a cushion case in brown Panerai Composite, surrounding a dial of the same colour. Featuring the classic alternation of linear markers and large figures at the cardinal points, this dial has the construction devised by Officine Panerai in the late 1930s to enhance readability even under very poor lighting conditions: two superimposed discs contain the luminous material, the light from which shines through the apertures in the upper one corresponding to the markers. Its quintessential design is enhanced by the small seconds dial at nine o’clock and by the inscription Radiomir Panerai.

Through the ample burnished sapphire crystal back of the Radiomir Composite® 3 Days, the hand-wound P.3000 manufacture movement can be admired. This calibre has a power reserve of three days, achieved by two spring barrels connected in series, and it is an impressive 16½ lignes in diameter. It has large brush-finished bridges with anglage (chamfering) and a variable inertia balance wheel of large diameter (13.2 mm), which oscillates at a frequency of 3 Hz. The P.3000 calibre also has the device enabling the hour hand to be set in jumps of one hour, so that adjusting it does not interfere with the movement of the minute hand or the running of the watch.

The Radiomir Composite® Black Seal 3 Days Automatic – 45mm (PAM00505) has a Radiomir case 45 mm in diameter made of Panerai Composite and the classic Panerai dial also has the date window at three o’clock. The name Black Seal, printed on the dial, is a proprietary name of Officine Panerai which evokes fascinating memories of the history of the brand: Black Seal was one of the names used to describe the slow-speed torpedoes, the midget submarines on which the commandos of the Italian Navy carried out their heroic underwater enterprises during the Second World War, with Panerai watches and instruments on their wrists.

Visible through the burnished sapphire crystal, the movement of the Radiomir Composite® Black Seal 3 Days Automatic is the P.9000, with a power reserve of 72 hours achieved by means of two spring barrels powered by an oscillating weight which winds in both directions. With a diameter of 13¾ lignes and a balance which oscillates at a frequency of 4 Hz, the P.9000 calibre is also fitted with the stop-seconds device enabling the time to be set in synchronisation with the reference time signal.

The Radiomir Composite® 3 Days and the Radiomir Composite® Black Seal 3 Days Automatic are water-resistant to 10 atmospheres (about 100 metres). Each is supplied with a strap of natural untreated leather, fastened by a buckle made of Panerai Composite.

Technical specifications

Radiomir Composite® 3 Days – 47mm
Movement: Hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.3000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 16½ lignes, 5.3 mm thick, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 160 components.
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds.
Case: Diameter 47 mm, brown Panerai Composite with removable wire loop strap attachments (patented). Screw-down winding crown personalised OP.
Bezel: Brown Panerai Composite, integrated into the case.
Back: See-through burnished sapphire crystal.
Dial: Brown with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers.
Crystal: Sapphire, formed of corundum, 1.9 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.
Water- resistance: 10 bar (~100 metres).
Strap: Panerai personalised leather strap and large-size brown Panerai Composite buckle.
Reference: PAM00504.

Radiomir Composite® Black Seal 3 Days Automatic – 45mm
Movement: Automatic mechanical, Panerai P.9000 calibre, executed entirely by Panerai, 13¾ lignes, 7.9 mm thick, 28 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 28,800 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve 3 days, two barrels. 197 components.
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date.
Case: Diameter 45 mm, brown Panerai Composite with removable wire loop strap attachments (patented). Screw-down winding crown personalised OP.
Bezel: Brown Panerai Composite, integrated into the case.
Back: See-through burnished sapphire crystal.
Dial: Brown with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers. Date at 3 o’clock, seconds at 9 o’clock.
Crystal: Sapphire, formed of corundum, 1.9 mm thick. Anti-reflective coating.
Water- resistance: 10 bar (~100 metres).
Strap: Panerai personalised leather strap and large-size brown Panerai Composite buckle.
Reference: PAM00505.

*Officine Panerai is not the owner of the Glucydur® e Incabloc® trademarks.