Panerai Radiomir Otto Giorni

No other brand, except perhaps Rolex and Audemars Piguet, has such a loyal and constantly growing fan base as the faithful followers of Panerai, and perhaps the reason for this trend is rooted in the fact that this cult Italian brand enjoys a superb reputation, offering high quality and a unique design. Another reason for this is perhaps because Panerai, founded in 1860 in Florence, was chosen as the official supplier to the Italian Navy as early as the beginning of the last century. Certainly, the unmistakably recognizable case design, which has become its hallmark, gives its fans no less reason for their devotion to the brand. Currently, Panerai offers four main collections: Historic, Contemporary, Manufacture, and of course, Special Editions. An interesting fact is that most of the models are produced in limited annual volumes of about 500 pieces and bear their individual number on the case back. The first Radiomir was produced back in 1938 and quickly managed to establish itself as a robust and reliable timepiece, which allowed it to become the official watch of the Italian commandos and special forces. The modern Radiomir models are presented in two of Panerai's collections – Historic and Contemporary, and the model on offer was introduced in 2023 and aims to pay tribute to the brand's historic models in a contemporary interpretation, but with a retro design. Following their pioneering experience and inspired by the success of the Luminor series, Officine Panerai continues the successful life of its collection, and the presented Radiomir is another remake watch with which the Italian manufacturer is trying to revive one of its very popular classic models. What is interesting in this case is that recycled steel has been used, which is aged in a special way to resemble the appearance of a long-used favorite tool, and the smoky dial with a complex rough texture and a strap of roughly processed nubuck reinforces the overall effect. The case size is the common for the Radiomir series 45 mm – this is truly a remarkable watch in every respect! The case back is transparent, covered with a sapphire crystal, and beneath it, we can enjoy another in-house creation by Panerai – the Calibre P.5000 – a manual winding movement, 5.5 mm in height, 21 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 21,600 vibrations per hour, Incabloc® anti-shock, two barrels, 127 components, 8 days power reserve!! Undoubtedly, the watch has a retro vibe, the dial is smoky, the Arabic numerals and the luminescence on the hands are in a warm, yet slightly contrasting bronze color, and the case is attached to a very stylish brown rubber strap with a simple, massive pin buckle - the model is definitely attractive. This is one of the timepieces that boldly ranks among the top spots in the "most versatile watch" classification – at least that is how we classify it, based on our modest experience. In our opinion, at least as far as the case shape is concerned, nowadays there are not many manufacturers who offer a case as convenient and comfortable for the different occasions in life as the one provided by the Panerai Radiomir (I am sure that for most of you it will be an interesting fact that back in the day, the cases for the progenitor of this model were manufactured and supplied to Panerai by none other than Rolex). Personally, in our opinion, if someone wants a Panerai that is cool and beautifully made, but doesn't like the models with the crown protector – the Panerai PAM01347 is one of the best choices. The watch is sufficiently muscular with its 45 mm, yet at the same time it is also very elegant with its aged case and the interesting shape of the crown. This watch is extremely comfortable, mainly due to its flat shape and the wrist-hugging lugs. This is one of those watches that can successfully play the role of both a dress watch, with which you would not hesitate to appear at an important business meeting, and a sports one, to accompany you to a match of your favorite team or on a walk.