Panerai: Radiomir Officine PAM01385

For over a century, the Panerai family legacy has been intertwined with precision instruments made to accompany the Italian military in their exploits. Commissioned by the Royal Italian Navy to supply high-precision instruments, it was Guido Panerai’s Radiomir – a radium- based substance that illuminates for visibility in the dark – that began it all when it was patented in 1916. 

An archival receipt shows that the Radiomir prototype was presented in 1935, and over the years, the sandwich construction has been progressively adjusted and is currently made of only two superimposed plates. Other improvements include the crown-protecting device, and a new luminous substance, the Luminor. A watch produced strictly for the military, the forces used it until the early 1970s, with its designs protected by military secrets. 

THE NEW RADIOMIR OFFICINE PAM01385

As part of the Radiomir Officine family, Panerai introduces a limited-edition timepiece featuring restyled elements that brings its aesthetics closer to its roots than ever before. The Radiomir Officine PAM01385 pays tribute to many of the iconic elements of the 1935 Radiomir prototype while incorporating contemporary technical expertise to exude a universal appeal to watch lovers. 

Set in a polished steel 45mm case with the iconic cone-shaped crown, the watch features a brown matte hollowed dial with indexes and numerals only at twelve and six o’clock while the beige Super-Luminova illuminates in green in the dark. The hour hand is segmented in half – an emblematic feature of Radiomir from its inception. Matched with a brown leather strap, the timepiece’s monotone shade highlights the brown dial, a matte color style that features for the first time within the collection. The revamped and restyled elements include the pared-down dial that features only the ‘Radiomir Panerai’ inscription without the collection’s typical OP logo, as well as a case constructed from monoblock steel. 

Radiomir Officine PAM01385 is powered by a hand-wound P.6000 calibre with a three-day power reserveand is water resistant up to 10 bar. 

The Maison brings together all these characteristics in a limited edition of 300 examples inspired by an archival receipt dated 24 October 1935 that testifies to the birth of the first Radiomir prototype. To commemorate this milestone, this exclusive is only available for e-commerce at the price of €. 5,500.