No bezel, big crown guard, very Italian
By Tom Hargreaves, Falmouth, Cornwall ยท
A lot of people start their Panerai habit here, and it's a strange one for a dive watch. There's no rotating bezel. Panerai built watches for the Italian Navy frogmen during the war, and the Luminor's big feature is the lever that clamps the crown down. It's a proper seal and you can't accidentally unscrew it. That's very good.
But no bezel means no way of timing a dive with the watch. You'd need a computer, and most people would have one anyway. Still.
44 mm across. 15.85 mm thick. 24 mm lugs. On leather. These are not small numbers. It's 300 m with a closed back and the P.9010 movement, 72 hours, date, small seconds at nine. Price $8,700 to $9,300.
It's a gorgeous watch to look at, the sandwich dial glows like nothing else at night. The case shape is classic and people know it. I'd love one in the house. I'd take a Submersible to the boat instead.