Back in December, Panerai dropped a murdered-out Ceramica of the Luminor GMT Power Reserve. The reference PAM01674 was the first time the three-day GMT was housed in ceramic, and it was used for the bracelet as well.
Now, for Milan Design Week, at which Panerai has been the official timekeeper since 1961, the Italian watchmaker has made a new version of the Ceramic with a blue sunray dial. Let’s take a look…
Stealthy But Legible
While the version in blue might not be as stealthy as the all-black Ceramica, it certainly doesn’t lose much in the way of legibility. Panerai is a legend when it comes to contrast and lume, with the Luminor being the defining model in that regard (hence the name).
In daylight, the long, lumed hour markers, numerals, and hands are bright white to stand out against the dark blue dial. Meanwhile, the hands themselves are framed in black for further distinction. Never at risk of being confused with the hour and minute hands, the GMT hand is the one with the pronounced arrow tip and allows you to track a second time zone when traveling. The black ceramic case helps to highlight what’s going on on the dial while also adding a sense of style to the timepiece.
The watch brings back the brand’s iconic sandwich dial construction, which allows for more effective lume exposure and legibility in low light. The Super-LumiNova X2 on the indices and hands is apparently 10% brighter than Super-LumiNova X1.
Ceramic: Not Just for Mugs
Finding much more usage in the watch world, ceramic is a great material because it takes color so well, but also because it’s very lightweight and scratch resistant. Ceramic is still a rarity for the Luminor, but is a popular choice in other models like the Radiomir. For the task, Panerai has employed their high-tech Zirconium Oxide, boasting 5x greater hardness than stainless steel. Meanwhile, the caseback is made of black DLC-coated titanium.
Business As Usual
For this blue-dial version, the Luminor GMT Power Reserve Ceramica measures the same as your standard Luminor GMT at 44mm across and rated to 300m of water resistance. You also have the signature protective bridge over the crown. There’s no central seconds hand but a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock. At 5 o’clock, there’s a small power reserve indicator, going up to 72 hours, while the date window here is at the 3 o’clock.
Visible through the smoked sapphire caseback window is the in-house P.9012 automatic movement with a seconds reset feature when setting the GMT hour hand.
Unlike the previous release that came with a ceramic bracelet, the new reference PAM01574 comes with both a blue alligator leather strap and a blue rubber strap instead. Best of all, they can be swapped out tool-free with Panerai’s PAM Click Release System.
Spec Sheet
Case Size: 44mm
Case Material: Black ceramic
Water Resistance: 300m
Movement: In-house P.9012 automatic
Band: Blue alligator strap and blue rubber strap
Limited Edition?: No
Pricing & Availability
Part of the permanent collection, the Luminor GMT Power Reserve Ceramica PAM01574 will be available from Panerai in the coming weeks for $16,500 — a couple thousand less than the all-black version.
Recap
Panerai Luminor GMT Power Reserve Ceramica PAM01574
Panerai swaps black for blue with this sunray-dial Luminor GMT Power Reserve, featuring a black Ceramica case and a 3-day movement.
