Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 Watch Review
The Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 indicates ‘local time’ as well as the ‘home time’ using a combination of a co-axial hand and an AM-PM indicator. Furthermore, the inventory of functions includes a date, small seconds and an ingenious linear power-reserve display. Housed in a 44 mm steel case, the P.2003 calibre features three barrels, a variable-inertia balance and a very clever ‘seconds reset device’. However, the headline act is undoubtedly the 10-day power reserve, allowing the watch to run a long time without the need for refuelling.
Panerai watch
It’s an annual ritual; Mr and Mrs Escapement meet the accountant, smartly attired, weighed down with numerous lever arch files. The figures vary from year to year, but the plot’s invariably the same. ‘Well done, you’ve had a good year, but obviously you will be paying more corporation tax’. And, in that moment, just as you are savouring the first bite of the cake, someone steps in and clears your plate. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think everyone should pay their taxes, but when the accountant suggests a perfectly legitimate way of mitigating said corporation tax bill, well, I’m all ears!
‘Get an electric car’, he suggested. With just four words, I was choking on my Choco Leibniz. As an avowed petrolhead with a predilection for fossil fuels, the mere thought of an electric car was abhorrent. I concede I am a fuddy-duddy and a grey-haired technophobe, but the idea of running low on electric juice with no working charging points to be found sounds like a recipe for disaster, likely to cause a few ulcers. Nevertheless, with the accountant’s advice ringing in my ears, I’ve researched the available electric options and ordered a Volkswagen ID.7. With a stated 383 mile range, or ‘combined WLTP’ in technobabble, I should be able to make it to my local Tesco and back on one charge with some margin to spare.
Watches with long power-reserves
I hope I’ve made the correct choice; range anxiety is a potential stress I’m ill-equipped to cope with at my time of life. If only it was as straightforward as a Panerai. Where does a watch fit in? Well, Panerai has just unveiled a new model with a power-reserve of 10 days. No ifs or buts, providing the mainsprings, of which there are three, are fully tensioned, the PAM01482 (the Paneristi love reference numbers) will run autonomously for 10 days. Simply place the watch on the sideboard, come back a week later and you will see the Panerai is merrily ticking; free of fuss.
Unlike newfangled electric cars, Panerai has a long history of making watches that can tick unattended for extended periods. In 1961, the watch firm produced a military specification watch, the Luminor Panerai with a hand-wound, 8-day Angelus SF240 movement. There was no range anxiety back then and, based on its latest creation, there’s no risk of running out of juice today.
Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 dial
Appraising the 1961 Luminor Panerai, it has worn well. There are no wrinkles, age spots or varicose veins. In fact, if this watch plans to go out on a Friday night, it should perhaps consider taking some ID. The new Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 is a tad more dressy, a bit more genteel but I suspect it has also gulped the same magic elixir of life.
Upholding Panerai tradition, the dial is the sandwich variety and there is the customary small seconds display at 9 o’clock. However, this new model is less utilitarian and much more luxurious. The dial is dressed in abyss blue and adorned with a sunray motif.
The baton-style hour and minute hands collaborate with fulsome indexes, wonderfully enunciating the prevailing time. As its name implies there is an additional co-axial hand (GMT) that informs long distance travellers of the hour at home, playing a deferential role to the dominant hands which indicate the local time. The dual-time function includes an AM-PM indicator to supplement the GMT hand. Unlike the Angelus equipped Luminor Panerai of 1961, the Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 also features a date display at 3 o’clock.
And last, but by no means least, the available power-reserve is shown on a linear scale, running left to right (min to max). This provides a welcome departure from the usual circular displays and, once again, showcases the brand’s penchant for Italianate style.
Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 case
Presented in a 44 mm cushion-shaped housing, a size that has always proved popular among Panerai’s fan base, the case of the PAM01482 is polished to a resplendent gleam throughout, save for the caseback and the iconic crown protection device, both of which are finely brushed. Again, the widespread use of polished metal imbues the PAM01482 with a sumptuous appearance that proves very different from the firm’s military-issue watches of yesteryear.
Likewise, the utilitarian straps of yesteryear have been set aside on this occasion in favour of a dark blue alligator strap with tone-on-tone stitching, secured to the wrist with a trapezoidal steel buckle. It seems Panerai has been to Swiss finishing school!
A departure from traditional divers’ watches of the past, this modern-day Panerai features an exhibition caseback that grants sight of the P.2003 calibre.
Panerai P.2003 calibre – automatic winding
Unlike the previously mentioned Angelus SF240 which was a manual movement, the Panerai P.2003 calibre is automatic. While this may disappoint traditionalists, it does make the Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 a far more practical watch for daily use.
The Panerai P.2003 calibre was the first movement ‘developed by Panerai within its Manufacture in Neuchâtel, Switzerland’. Comprising 296 components, including 25 jewels, the movement is endowed with three spring barrels, conferring up to 10 days of autonomous operation. However, beyond the headline figure, there are several refinements worthy of mention.
Panerai P.2003 calibre – variable-inertia balance
The movement is endowed with a variable-inertia balance (aka a ‘free-spring balance). Most mechanical watches feature a ‘raquette’ to regulate the watch. By moving the position of the raquette, either towards or away from the stud, the effective length of hairspring is altered making the watch run faster or slower. However, with a variable-inertia balance, the length of the hairspring remains constant and the rate is adjusted by moving weights affixed to the balance wheel, altering the moment of inertia.
It takes longer for a watchmaker to regulate a variable-inertia balance, however, it does deliver several benefits. For instance, the balance spring develops more concentrically, thereby improving isochronism, and the rate can be regulated more precisely. Furthermore, a watch fitted with a variable-inertia balance that is subjected to a shock is less likely to require remedial regulation.
Panerai P.2003 calibre – other highlights
The openworked oscillating mass is mounted on a ball bearing and employs bidirectional winding to energise all three mainsprings. A stop-seconds function (aka a ‘hacking-seconds’) allows the wearer to pull out the crown and synchronise the PAM01482 with a reference clock, albeit the Panerai system takes this a little further. When the crown is pulled out, the small seconds hand resets to zero; it’s a delightful touch of ingenuity on the part of the Neuchâtel-based R&D team.
Panerai has mounted the balance on a bridge, retained with two screws, affording superior stability to a simple cock (a type of bridge held with one screw).
The bulkiest part of the oscillating mass is the felloe, the outer edge of the weight. In this instance, the Swiss marque has placed the felloe within a trottoir, a channel encircling the main bridgework, mitigating movement thickness.
Panerai has chosen to execute the P.2003 in a contemporary style, eschewing the traditional Côtes de Genève motif in favour of understated satin brushwork, while the trottoir is adorned with colimaçon.
Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 – closing remarks
Few brands surpass Panerai in the readability stakes. In the late 1930s, the company began making divers’ watches for the Royal Italian Navy and appreciated from the outset that lucidity both underwater and upon terra firma was of paramount importance. The new Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482 perpetuates this reputation.
Where this watch differs from its antecedents is that, despite retaining some of the characteristics of historical Panerai models, the modern-day PAMs have been instructed in the principles of etiquette. No longer are Panerais utilitarian watches made to fulfil a military role, they are now über-luxurious timepieces. And yet, while the PAM01482 is certainly less utilitarian than some of its miltary-spec forebears, it is far more functional. Peruse the dial of this new model and contrast it with that of the Luminor Panerai of 1961. Examination reveals the addition of a date display, am/pm indicator and a linear power reserve display; the Paneristi have never had it so good.
The case of the PAM01482 measures 44 mm in diameter, delivering an unabashed ristretto-strength Italianate flavour that most brand devotees adore. However, the dorsal glazing, a break from the past, reveals an automatic movement brimming with refinements. Quite simply, there is much to like about the P.2003 calibre.
For many years Panerai has made timepieces capable of running autonomously for 3, 8 or 10 days. The Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482, a watch with many features, also promises to run the full distance with its engine ticking for the stated 10 days. Quite simply, I see little reason for range anxiety when it comes to the PAM01482. With my ID.7 arriving in a few weeks, I just hope the team in Wolfsburg matches the talents of the team in Neuchâtel and my new car does indeed run for a maximum stated range of 383 miles.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Panerai Luminor Dieci Giorni GMT PAM01482
- Case: polished steel, diameter 44 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 m); sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, date, GMT with AM-PM indicator, linear power reserve display
- Movement: P.2003 calibre, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 25 jewels, power reserve 10 days
- Strap: dark blue alligator with tone-on-tone stitching paired with a trapezoidal steel pin buckle.
- Price: £13,200 (RRP as of 26.5.2024)