Italian watch brand, Panerai, has a storied history. Much of its 165 year history was conducted behind closed doors, with the brand producing watches for the Italian military for many decades.
These days, things are more open, with the brand often regarded as one of the top players in the luxury dive watch market. Now, there's a new model from the brand which might just be the Goldilocks model for most.
The Panerai Luminor GMT Ceramica does exactly what it says on the tin. Everything is housed in a small-for-Panerai 40mm case, which is crafted from sandblasted black ceramic. That's attached to Grade 5 titanium on the case back, and flanked with sapphire crystals for the top and back.
The dial is also black, and finished with a sun-brushed design. That's the textbook sandwich dial, too, which employs a layer of Super-LumiNova beneath the black top, with cutouts for the indices.
Inside, the P.900/GMT movement keeps things ticking. That uses a 4Hz beat rate, and offers a whopping three days of power reserve – perfect as a weekday watch which gets a break over the weekend without needing winding.
The model attaches with a black calf leather strap, which is offset with white contrast stitching. You'll also get a second black rubber strap in the box, which is definitely the one I'd pick if you're taking a dip.
It's certainly capable of that too – while there's no diving bezel on this piece, there is 300m of water resistance on offer, which makes it a very capable dive watch when needed.
Priced at £13,000 (approx. €15,000 / US$17,500 / AU$26,750), this one marks a pretty decent deal in luxury watch terms. Yes, it's not cheap, but factor in a killer movement, three days of power reserve and a GMT complication, and it looks like great value to me.
