For better or worse (depending on your point of view), Panerai continues to hold a slice of my watch subconscious. This started back when I was drawn in my the clean retro look I saw in a magazine ad years ago, and eventually blossomed when I ordered a homage watch as my very first mechanical (and it’s since passed on to another). I’ve reviewed the real thing since then (see that here) and it definitely has a quality the homage didn’t possess. Cue, then, my intense interest in the new – and compact – Panerai Luminor Quarenta.
Now, for Paneristi, they’re down in the weeds and know all the details of the various references and their differences (much like the superfans of that crowned Swiss brand). For me – and quite likely you – we can’t tell all of that at a glance, or by a reference number. So, in many ways, the Panerai Luminor Quarenta looks much like those that have come before. You’ve got the flip-lock crown guard, a sandwich dial, and sub-seconds over at 9 o’clock.
The key, then, is that last part of the model name: Quarenta. In Italian, it means “forty”, and that’s the case size we have here – 40mm in diameter. This is worthy of note, as you’re more commonly going to run across case sizes for Panerai that are larger than that. And, if you don’t have a wrist like Stallone or Arnold, well, those gigantor cases may just look silly.
So, with the Panerai Luminor Quarenta, you get a more amenable case size for those with smaller wrists (or just prefer a smaller case size for the aesthetics), while still maintaining the look and feel of its larger siblings. Oh, and hey, it’s not like you’re getting messed around with the movement either, as it uses the P.900 that shows up in a variety of other models. Still a bit surprising to only see a 100m WR rating on a watch with historical ties to the Italian Navy, but it is what it is. And hey, it’s going to do just fine for whatever you’re doing so long as you don’t have a SCUBA tank on your back.
So, in a word, I am a bit taken with the Panerai Luminor Quarenta, even with it coming in at $7,100. Sure, I might opt for a GMT from the Luminor line, or the version with a cyclops on the date wheel if I were buying one. Then again, there’s something to be said for “just” a three-hander with date for a sort of all-around everyday watch, you know?As John would say, it could eat all the crackers it wants. I’d say it’s definitely one to make sure you don’t miss when you stop by your local boutique. panerai.com
Tech Specs from Panerai
- Reference: PAM01270 (blue dial / blue strap), PAM01271 (white dial / black strap), PAM01272 (black dial / black strap)
- MOVEMENT: Automatic mechanical, P.900 calibre, 12 1?2 lignes, 4.2mm thick, 23 jewels, 28,800 alternations/hour. IncablocTM anti-shock device. One barrel. 171 components
- FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date
- POWER RESERVE: Three days
- CASE: 40mm brushed steel case, polished steel bezel, brushed steel caseback. Safety Lock crown protection device in brushed steel.
- DIAL: Blue sun-brushed with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers. Date at 3 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock
- STRAP: Quick release alligator dark blue strap, blue, 22/20, BA, STD. Quick release system buckle patented by Panerai
- WATER-RESISTANCE: 10 bar (~100 meters)
