There’s no denying Panerai’s strong design codes.

If you were to ask a Panerai fan whether they prefer the Radiomir or Luminor, you’d get very polarising answers. And the topic of contention would most likely be this: the crown guard.

Detractors will argue the Radiomir’s straightforward, fuss-free profile is simplicity at its best—a perfect combination of wire lugs, cushion case and inverse conical crown. On the other hand, there are those who insist the crown guard is by far the most iconic characteristic of a Panerai timepiece, adding more muscle to an already sporty ticker.

Even here at Crown Watch Blog,  opinions are divided. But one thing we can agree on is that Panerai has a very clear design identity. And this is something we continue to see in the latest addition to the family—the Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic Acciaio.

The 42mm Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic Acciaio PAM00722

Right off the bat, you’ll notice the most apparent update—the stainless steel bracelet. Aficionados of the brand will know that Panerai watches are most often designed with leather straps, so a steel one is really quite uncommon. But mind you, this isn’t regular stainless steel; it’s AISI 316L stainless steel, a stronger yet lighter material that’s also used in the case.

It’s not the first bracelet Panerai has created, though. That honour goes to a piece from 1999. This new one, however, features links inspired by the shape of the crown guard. The beauty of this bracelet, though, is how each link integrates seamlessly without the use of any screws. This makes the bracelet incredibly ergonomic and comfortable on the wrist—something that’s sure to be a huge bonus in humid climes like Singapore’s.

All other design details (case shape, sandwich dial, small seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock) have been retained, keeping the watch iconic and recognisable. Available in two sizes—42mm and 44mm, the smaller one is guaranteed water-resistant up to 100m while the larger one can go down to 300m.

At the heart of the watch is the self-winding Calibre P.9010, visible through the sapphire caseback (above). Although Panerai may have roots that go back to 1860, it was only in the Noughties that they started to develop their own movements, with the very first one, the P.2002 introduced in 2005. Bearing its name from the year Panerai launched its project to produce in-house movements, the Calibre P.2002 is a manual-winding workhorse that powers both Radiomirs and Luminors.

The P.9010 that drives this watch has enough energy (72 hours, via two barrels) to keep the ticker going for three days and is actually the standard for all of Panerai’s in-house movements. The hour hand can be easily adjusted independently of the minute hand, jumping an hour forwards or backwards, especially handy when calibrating the watch to a new time zone. In addition, the date gets automatically adjusted according to the hour hand.

The 44mm Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days Automatic Acciaio PAM00723

While we prefer our Luminors with leather straps, we’re quite won over by this particular bracelet design, with the ingenious crown guard shape that distinguishes it from your run-of-the-mill three-link or five-link bracelets. Besides, if we really want a leather strap, the bracelet can be easily swapped out via a patented system where a push button under each lug pops the bracelet out.

Alternatively, if you really like the steel bracelet, you can purchase it separately. Do note that it’s only compatible with Luminor 1950 models using the P.9010 movement. As with everything in life, it’s always good to have options.

Case	42mm or 44mm, AISI 316L stainless steel
Dial	Black with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers
Movement	Self-winding in-house Calibre P.9010
Bracelet	AISI 316L stainless steel
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds, date
Power  Reserve	72 hours
Price	S$11,600 (42mm), S$11,750 (44mm)