Officine Panerai Lo Scienziato Radiomir Tourbillon GMT PAM 00348

From a military watch to a grand complication. It was bound to happen. As Panerai expanded it line-up of watches, the focus on the functional moves into another realm, more akin to what might be produced by watchmakers Breguet, Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin.

After having introduced Tourbillon movements two years ago, at SIHH 2010, Panerai continued in the same direction and released a skeleton watch, with a Tourbillon movement. There is no better way to appreciate such an intricate mechanism of a watch movement other than doing away with the dial. So in 2010 Officine Paneria presents the Lo Scienziato Radiomir Tourbillon GMT PAM00348.

I have a feeling that many a Panerai purist will not appreciate this type of watch. I do not want to get into a discussion of the direction Panerai should be taking. Instead, I will simply to take this watch at face value. It is an impressive piece of watchmaking.

Panerai Lo Scienziato Radiomir Tourbillon GMT PAM 348. The case is a large 48mm black ceramic Radiomir case. I am not sure if the process used in this watch is the one used in making the Panerai Radiomir "Black Seal" PAM00292 or the ceramization process used in constructing the case for the Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Militare P2002 47mm PAM 00339, but I believe it is the former. Either way, either process is distinctly Panerai.

Inside the case is the hand-wound mechanical, Panerai P.2005/S calibre, built in-house by Panerai. This movement produces the expected 28,800 vibration per hour of a watch of this caliber and has a long six day power reserve. Aside from proving the usual hours, minutes, small seconds the watch as a GMT function with an additional hand for a second time zone.

Instead of the additional hand rotating once every 24 hours live in most GMT watches, Panerai use a 12 hour hand with a day/night indicator for the second time zone.

To go along with the long power reserve, there is a power reserve indicator. The watch does not have a date function. A date wheel would block most of the view of the movement from the front.

And of course, there is the tourbillon.

What is a tourbillon? The tourbillon was invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet. Mechanical timepieces are affected by gravity. In order to counter the effects of gravity, Abraham-Louis Breguet built a watch that counteracted gravity by rotating the balance wheel of a watch or clock through 360 degrees. This is called a tourbillon.

This is accomplished by mounting the escapement in a rotating frame, called a "carriage" which turns at regular intervals, usually once a minute. This rotation reduces the positional errors of the movement.

At that time almost Abraham-Louis Breguet invented the tourbillon almost all watches were pocket watches which stayed in one position most of the time. The only time a pocket watch changes position is when it's taken out by the owner to check the time.

The effect of gravity on a watch or clock kept in one position all the time, like a pocket watch, is particularly noticeable on the escapement, especially the balance which rocks back and forth. This can lead to inaccuracies. Breuget's solution was the tourbillon.

Today, most tourbillons are found in wristwatches. People tend to move their arm as they go about their day, which provides the changes in position required to offset the effects of gravity on the watch movement. This negates the need for one a tourbillon. Today tourbillon watches are valued as a display of watchmaking prowess, in the same way complication watches are desirable.

About Panerai. Officine Panerai was founded in 1860 in Florence, Italy by Giovani Panerai. Panerai was acquired over by Swiss watchmaker Richemont S. A. in 1997.