Officine Panerai down-size with the new 'Due'

Closeup of Panerai’s ’Due’ watch face. Black face with silver hands and rim.

Panerai has gone light-weight for its downsized ’Due’ model

(Image credit: TBC)

last updated 7 August 2022

Irony of ironies, Panerai has downsized. No, not the diameter, which was reduced in certain models to 40mm some years ago for greater wearability by the small of wrist. This time, with the 'Due' model, the case thickness is reduced. The name means ‘two’ in Italian and refers to its being a second-generation design inspired by the 1950s 'Luminor' models with Panerai’s unmistakable lockable-by-lever crown.

This low-carb case will be used for the 42mm manually-wound 'Luminor Due 3 Days' and the automatic 'Luminor Due 3 Days', with a 45mm version of the same case. Their cases are, respectively, only 10.5mm and 10.7mm thick, compared with 13.5–15.6mm for a ‘regular’ Panerai.

The secret to this slimming down? The new P1000 calibre. It provides hours, minutes and seconds reset and a 72-hour power reserve, yet it is only 3.85mm thick.

Both manually-wound models feature a 3/6/12 dial with small seconds at nine o’clock. The automatic, with its larger case, allows the seconds to remain at nine o’clock, but there is space for the numeral '9' to appear, too. And, of course, on top of all the other good reasons to covet the 'Due', surely the fact that its skinny frame means that there is no longer any possible conflict with one’s cufflinks is one of the most compelling.

Side view Panerai’s ’Due’ watch with a gold rim. — The name, which means ‘two’ in Italian, refers to its being a second-generation design inspired by the 1950s ’Luminor’ models with Panerai’s unmistakable lockable-by-lever crown

Panerai’s ’Due’ watch with a black face, silver hands and rim. — Their cases are now, respectively, only 10.5mm and 10.7mm thick, compared with 13.5–15.6mmm for a ‘regular’ Panerai

Panerai’s ’Due’ watch with a black face and gold hands and rim. — This low-carb case will be used for the 42mm manually-wound ’Luminor Due 3 Days’ and the automatic ’Luminor Due 3 Days’, with a 45mm version of the same case

A watch maker wearing a magnifying glass on one eye and holding tools. — On-site at Panerai’s watch factory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Watch maker tools in a wooden case. — Panerai opened the Neuchâtel facility in 2002. Here planning, development and continuous research offers new technical and functional innovations

Watch faces in a case. — For Panerai, founded in 1860 in Florence, manufacturing must combine a number of distinctive elements: unmistakable design, loyalty to the history of the brand and an insatiable drive for aesthetics

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Panerai website

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