Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Goldtech Watch Review
The Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Goldtech PAM01026 was unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2023. Measuring 40mm in diameter and housed in noble metal, this automatic movement, featuring the P.900 calibre is ideally suited to both male and female wrists. Mark McArthur-Christie explains why this is a watch that a Paneristi can wear on a smart night out.
Panerai watch
Some watches just stand out. All it takes is a glance at someone’s wrist and you know what they’re wearing. Red and blue bezel? Probably a GMTII. Honking great ‘no radiation’ indication on the dial? That’ll be a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. But the club of watches you can tell just by a casual peek at a case shape is rather small. Here, Panerai dwells towards the top of the list. What’s more, you can go so far as to spot the model – you’ll know whether someone has a Radiomir or a Luminor just from seeing the edge of the case peering out from a shirt cuff. Assuming their cuffs are generously cut, clearly. Knowing you’re looking at a Panerai is all the easier as the manufacturer isn’t known for their subtle case sizes.
Military watch
The original Radiomir weighs in at 47mm and the size is a key part of the original watch’s function as a military diving instrument. When underwater readability is essential, you need a proper wristbuster 3646 strapped over the sleeve of your frogman suit.
Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Goldtech – 40 mm case and 10.15 mm thick
So it was a brave move from Panerai to withhold the pies from the new Quaranta to slim it down to a mere 40 mm. That’s not only helped by a thinner case, but a flatter, 1.15 mm thick (thin?) sapphire crystal, too. You can stand your shirtmaker down as well; all-in, the Quaranta is only a fly’s sniff over 10mm deep. For context, a Rolex Day-Date measures just 12mm from crystal to caseback and the slim Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate comes in at only just under 9mm. Panerai suggests its new, un-pucklike skinny watch is ‘…a versatile silhouette for all genders and occasions.’ It’s certainly a lot easier to wear if you’re not built like Arnie.
Radiomir watch
That silhouette is absolutely familiar to anyone who’s seen a Radiomir of any flavour; it’s just smaller. All the Radiomir cases get tick-wire lugs, the screw-down conical crown and the sandwich dial. But the gold case and the white sun-brushed dial turn a diving tool watch into something much more dressy.
Panerai Goldtech™
I say ‘gold’, but Panerai seems to like renaming watch metals. First, we had eSteel, made from ‘pre-consumer recycled steel scraps (up to 95%) coming from different industries, preferably from the Swiss watchmaking industry…’ And now the Quaranta is made from Panerai Goldtech™, a gold alloy with platinum and a higher charge of copper that gives the case a deeper red appearance. It’s certainly a striking material for casemaking.
Water-resistance
That’s not to say this is an effete, shrinking violet of a Panerai. It’ll do all the usual PAM things, like getting wet and taking a knock or two. In terms of water resistance, there are apparently only a few early watches marked ‘30m’, the rest will feature a caseback engraving that tells you the case’s water-resistance has improved to a deeper-than-you’ll-ever-need-in-the-real-world 50m.
Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Goldtech – beige Super-LumiNova
You’ll still be able to see your new Quaranta by dimmer evening light too. This must have been a tricky problem for the firm’s designers. A traditional PAM sandwich dial but in white; green luminous compound just wouldn’t have worked with a dress watch. Using a matching white pigment wouldn’t give the numerals enough stand-out in daylight. Instead, they settled on beige Super-LumiNova that glows green in the dark. Beige might sound like an odd choice, but in the metal it works a treat.
Panerai P.900 calibre
Sitting behind the dial is the 171 component P.900 calibre, a familiar movement to PAM fans as it features extensively in the Luminor and Radiomir ranges. Panerai has done the decent thing and fitted a sapphire caseback to the Quaranta so you can enjoy looking at it. It’s a workmanlike engine with a single barrel, brushed and blasted plates but none the worse for it. As you’d expect, it’s shockproof, thanks to an Incabloc anti-shock system, runs at 28,800 vph (4Hz) and it’ll keep on doing it without a wind for three days.
Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Goldtech – closing thoughts
So where does the new watch fit? It’s not a traditional PAM size. Neither is the dial a traditional PAM high-contrast arrangement. Quite simply, the new Quaranta is the best of both worlds; it’s a dress watch that’ll survive a decent kicking (not that we recommend…) and one you can wear without babying.
This smaller size and precious metal will be ideal for the Paneristi who make Ferrari loyalists look uncommitted. Finally – they can leave the Cartier at home and stay loyal with a dress PAM they can wear on a smart night out.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Panerai Radiomir Quaranta Goldtech PAM01026
- Case: polished Panerai Goldtech™, diameter 40 mm, thickness 10.15 mm, water resistance 5 ATM (50 m), sapphire crystal to the front, exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, date
- Movement: P.900 calibre, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 23 jewels, power reserve 3 days, 171 components
- Strap: dark brown alligator strap, T/T, 24/18, BA, STD. Polished Panerai Goldtech™.
- Price: £15,700 (RRP as of 10.4.2023)