— The brown dial of the new special edition is a detail that tells a fascinating story of the brand which revolutionised the legibility of wristwatches in the dark and underwater.
It began with the invention of Radiomir: this was a powder based on radium, patented by Guido Panerai in 1916, to make luminous gun sights and other optical devices exceptionably visible in the dark. It was Radiomir which was used on the dial of the firstever replica Panerai watches in 1936, and for several years this remarkable luminous substance was one of the closely guarded military secrets which enabled the commandos of the Royal Italian Navy to carry out their extraordinary missions in the depths of the sea at night, equipped with instruments specially created by the Florentine watchmaker.
In the 1940s people were concerned about the panerai radiomir 1940 3 days replica of radium powder and therefore in 1949 Panerai patented Luminor, a new luminous substance based on tritium, some 20 times less radioactive.
The effect of the radium-based powder – and also to a lesser extent that based on tritium – has been to bring about a change in the colour of the dials of some vintage fake watches for sale, transforming the original black into a characteristic brown, which helps to make each of these models unique and different from all the others. Two new Special Editions, made in 1,000 examples each, draw inspiration from this detail: the Radiomir 1940 3 Days (PAM00662) and the Luminor 1950 3 Days (PAM00663).
Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio – 47mm (PAM00662) © Panerai
In 1954, the Egyptian Navy turned to the Florentine watchmaker for the supply of a special series of diver’s fake watches UK designed for frogmen. It was this request which gave copy panerai radiomir 1940 3 days 47mm rise to one of the most fascinating watches in the history of Officine Panerai, known to collectors by the reference 6154 and the name “Egiziano Piccolo” – to distinguish it from its famous successor, the Egiziano of 1956 – and today it is presented again as a Special Edition: the new Radiomir 1940 3 Days. The new Radiomir 1940 3 Days is a faithful re-creation of it, updated to meet the current standards of high quality sports watchmaking. It uses the Radiomir 1940 case in the historic size of 47 mm in diameter, today made of AISI 316L stainless steel with a polished finish. The lugs are formed from the block of the case itself. The winding crown is cylindrical and the profile of the watch is particularly elegant with the sharp edge of the caseband.
The other Special Edition created by Officine Panerai is the new Luminor 1950 3 Days. In this model, the same brown dial is fitted in a Luminor 1950 case, immediately recognisable by the bridge-shaped device with its locking 3 lever which exercises a light pressure on the winding crown to protect it from accidental shocks and to help ensure the watch’s water-resistance. The new Luminor 1950 3 Days has the Luminor 1950 case of AISI 316L stainless steel, in its first historic version: the one with a diameter of 47 mm, its cusped shape reminiscent of the cases of the first Radiomir watches.
Luminor 1950 3 Days Acciaio – 47mm (PAM00663) © Swiss Replica Panerai
Through the sapphire porthole on the back of the new Special Editions, the hand-wound P.3000 calibre, entirely made in the Panerai Manufacture in Neuchâtel, can be admired. It has two spring barrels which enable it to accumulate a power reserve of three days and it is here presented for the first time with a new appearance. The structure of the movement is now protected by four brush-finished bridges, including the one with twin supports which in a particularly stable manner secures the balance oscillating at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour. The P.3000 calibre also has the useful device which enables the hour hand to be swiftly and accurately adjusted forward or backward, without interfering with the running of the minute hand.
Both models are supplied with a Ponte Vecchio strap in brown leather with visible ecru sewing, the heaten graved OP logo and a tongue buckle in polished steel personalised Panerai. The elegant wood box in which the two new Special Editions are supplied also contains a spare Plexiglas® crystal. The fake Swiss watches is water-resistant to the depth of about 100 metres.