Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XVII

1 3 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Luminor Submersible 1950 CarbotechTM3 Days Automatic – 47mm One of the secrets of Officine Panerai is its ability to combine echoes of the glorious past, which is always at the foundation of each new design by the brand, with a continuous thrust towards the future and innovation. In 2010, Officine Panerai amazed the world of high-quality watchmaking by offering the Luminor Submersible for the first time with a case crafted of bronze, an ancient material with unmistakable nautical associations, which is personalised by ageing with the passage of time. Officine Panerai’s Workshop of Ideas today turns to the future, presenting a remarkable technical innovation which makes each example of the new Luminor Submersible 1950 CarbotechTMdifferent from the others. The case is made of carbotech, a composite material based on carbon fibre, never before used in the world of watchmaking. As well as providing exceptional technical performance, carbotech has an uneven, matt black appearance, which varies according the cutting of the material: the result is that each example is unique. The structure of carbotech is designed to enhance both the aesthetics and the performance of the material, which is used to make the case, the rotating bezel and the lever bridge that protects the winding crown. To form the plates of carbotech fromwhich these components are made, thin sheets of carbon fibres are compressed at a controlled temperature under high pressure together with a high-end polymer that binds the composite material, making it even stronger and more durable. The carbon fibres used are very long, so as to ensure great aesthetic uniformity, and the sheets are superimposed and pressed together in such a way that the fibres of each layer are set at a different angle to the ones above and below it. With this structure, the mechanical properties of carbotech are much higher than those of other materials used in the world of watchmaking, such as ceramics or titanium: carbotech is lighter than these, much more resistant, hypoallergenic and not subject to corrosion. While the technology of the material looks to the future, every design detail of the watch is faithfully inspired by the history of the brand. The Luminor 1950 case (47 mm in diameter), developed by Panerai in the late 1940s to be worn on the wrists of commandos of the ItalianNavy, is enhanced by a rotating bezel withmarkers consisting of small studs, inspired by the model created by Panerai for the EgyptianNavy in 1956. The bezel rotates only anticlockwise and enables the time of immersion to be calculated: a very useful function for a professional underwater instrument that is tested for water-resistance up to 30 bar (about 300 metres). The dial of the new Luminor Submersible 1950 CarbotechTM is black with applied hour markers; the date window is at three o’clock and the small seconds counter is at nine o’clock. The screw-in caseback, which helps to ensure the watch’s high degree of water-resistance, is made of titanium with black treatment and is engraved with elements characteristic of the Panerai brand: “Florence 1860”, the city and year of birth of Panerai watchmaking, and the image of a Slow Speed Torpedo (SLC), the notorious “pig” on which the commandos of the Italian Navy sailed through the depths of the sea on their missions in the 1940s while wearing instruments made by Panerai. The technological heart of the Luminor Submersible 1950 CarbotechTM is the P.9000 automatic calibre, developed and made by the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel. Like the P.9100, the movement has two spring barrels giving a power reserve of three days, and a device to stop the balance wheel to ensure accuracy when setting the time. Identified by the reference PAM00616, the new Luminor Submersible 1950 CarbotechTM is fitted with a black rubber strap, personalised for the first time by the OP logo in Panerai blue, and is supplied with a spare strap and a screwdriver. History, design, innovation and passion – these watches reflect the true legacy of Panerai.