SIHH 2016: Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanio


At SIHH 2016, Officine Panerai debuted the Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanio special edition, dedicated to Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician, Galileo Galilei, whose discoveries laid the foundations for the development of mechanical timepieces.

Highlighting the hours, minutes, small seconds, GMT with am/pm indication, a power reserve, and a tourbillon – is a uniquely manufactured 47 mm titanium case and a newly developed titanium version of Panerai’s manufacture caliber P.2005.

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In addition to using titanium for the case, which is already approximately 40% lighter than steel, Panerai used an innovative technology which enabled them to hollow out the case internally, without sacrificing the structural integrity and maintaining a water resistance of 100 meters.

“The technology used is called Direct Metal Laser Sintering: this process builds up a 3D object layer by layer by means of a fiber optic laser using powdered titanium.

The successive layers – each one only 0.02 mm thick – merges together and become completely solid, creating forms which would be impossible to achieve using traditional working methods, lower in weight and with a perfectly uniform, even appearance,” according to the manufacture.

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Hand wound mechanical caliber P.2005/T is available for the first time with a titanium main plate and bridges. These components have been skeletonized, further reducing weight compared to the typical brass based components in the P.2005/S skeletonized movement (a 35% reduction in weight).

Overall lightness of the watch is, therefore, achieved through the use of titanium, and by skeletonizing the plate, bridges, spring barrels, and dial.

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Interestingly, the tourbillon, visible at 10 and 11 o’clock, has a cage that rotates on a perpendicular axis, not parallel, and it rotates every 30 seconds, instead of once a minute.

The Panerai crown guard secures the crown, which prevents water from entering the case, as well providing the signature military look. The case is fully matte brushed, and the lugs are screwed. Blued luminous hands on the dial indicate the hours, minutes, small seconds, GMT hand with separate am/pm indication. On the back, a retrograde indication, using a blued hand, displays how much of the 6-day (144-hour) power reserve is remaining.

Hours are marked by 12, 9, 3 and 6 Arabic numerals, with indexes for the other eight hours. All hour markers are luminous and are mounted on the outer chapter ring. At 9 ‘clock is a subsidiary small seconds indication. And at 3 o’clock is the subsidiary am/pm indication.

The flange is engraved with “LUMINOR 1950 PANERAI” at the top, and “LO SCIENZIATO” at the bottom.

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The Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanio is paired with an anthracite colored alligator strap to match the case and movement, along with a titanium deployant buckle. This special edition is limited to 150 pieces. (Ref. PAM00578)