Panerai’s new launches this year have so far been inclined towards civilian sports – including the Luna Rossa trio and Mike Horn edition – which is a key part of chief executive Jean-Marc Pontroué’s strategy that also emphasises “experiences”.

But with its two new launches – the Radiomir California 47mm (PAM 931) and Radiomir 8 Days 45mm (PAM 992) – the brand returns to the old school Marina Militare style – both have a familiar look that’s heavily inspired by wristwatches Panerai made for frogmen of the Italian navy in the 1930s and 1940s.

Radiomir California 47mm PAM00931

Notably, both watches have steel cases with an “aged patina effect”, essentially a surface coating that reproduces the look of the vintage originals.

The Radiomir California 47mm (PAM00931) revisits a design that Panerai has reproduced several times in the past – modelled on the ref. 3646 of the 1930s – but now with a “tropical” dial in graduated brown that mimics the look of aged dials on vintage Radiomir watches.

It has Roman numerals on the upper half and Arabic numbers on the bottom, a design originally meant to aid legibility by clearly distinguishing the upper and lower halves of the dial.

The crystal is domed PlexiGlas, while the movement is the extra-large, hand-wound P.3000 with a three-day power reserve.

The second model is slightly more interesting, since the design is more novel (in other words having not been done before, at least in the exact same configuration).

The Radiomir 8 Days 45mm (PAM00992) is smaller, but powered by a hand-wound movement with an eight-day power reserve, hence “8 Giorni Brevattato” on the dial, which translates as “8 days patented”.

And the dial has a “sandwich” construction that was also found on some vintage Panerai. It’s made up of a lower disc painted with luminous paint, and covered by an upper disc with cut-outs for the hour markers and sub-seconds.

The steel case is similar coated with a “patina” treatment, and matched with a domed sapphire crystal.

The movement is the P.5000, the brand’s entry-level movement with a long power reserve. Specifically, this is the second generation P.5000 movement that has a full bridge covering almost all of the back; the earlier version featured an open-worked bridge that revealed part of the gear train.

Key facts and price

Radiomir California 47 mm (PAM00931)

Diameter: 47mm
Height: 15.97mm
Material: Stainless steel with patina treatment
Water resistance: 100m

Movement: P.3000
Functions: Hours and minutes
Winding: Hand-wind

Frequency: 21,600bph, or 3Hz
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Calfskin with pin buckle

Availability: From December 2019, at both retailers and boutiques
Price: €8,500, or 12,500 Singapore dollars

Radiomir 8 Days 45 mm (PAM00992)

Diameter: 45mm
Height: 14.25mm
Material: Stainless steel with patina treatment
Water resistance: 100m

Movement: P.5000
Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds
Winding: Hand-wind

Frequency: 21,600bph, or 3Hz
Power reserve: 8 days

Strap: Calfskin

Availability: From November 2019, only at Panerai boutiques
Price: €8,300, or 12,200 Singapore dollars

For more information, visit Panerai.com