Panerai Luminor Marina

Why We Love It Panerai means different things to different collectors, but wherever you stand on the spectrum there's no denying that these things have presence! Although not exactly small, Panerai do have a way of wearing smaller than advertised, with their excellent "cushion" case design that has become synonymous with the brand. Sized at 40mm, this particular Radiomir Reference PAM0049 features a luminous gloss white dial with printed Arabic indices, an automatic-winding movement, a sapphire crystal with magnified date, and Panerai's quintessential locking crown guard. Simple as that, and we love it. The Story Relaunched in the 1990s after decades of dormancy, Panerai took the oversized tool watch designs of the first half of the 20th Century - which were once fitted with Rolex movements and supplied to Italian Navy frogmen, and popularized them to a new generation of collectors, enthusiasts, and the fashion-forward crowd alike. No one can dispute that Panerai was the king of the sports watch resurgence in the early 2000s, but now with just over twenty years of modern history and a few eyebrow raising missteps, the collector community has  -- for the most part -- moved on. You could argue that the modern iteration of Panerai was created to be a fashion brand more than a true manufacture, and you might just be right. With that said, dismissing the brand completely would be a mistake, as their timepieces feature brilliant designs truly iconic for this era and those gone by, and the positive impact that the Panerai brand has had on the collector community cannot be understated.