Many of our impressions of Panerai watches today come from the Luminor series, including its sandwich face plate, crown bridge protection device, etc.; however, in the development of the Luminor series for such a long period of time, it has actually been experienced. Many things have gradually evolved into what we see now. It should not be difficult for people who have a little knowledge of watches to distinguish Panerai’s two signature series, Radiomir and Luminor, but we will mention three things about Panerai Luminor replica watches below. , Not everyone knows it. Regarding the causes and consequences of the Luminor series, as long as you figure out the following three things, you will definitely have a better understanding of it.
1. The term Luminor has nothing to do with watches at first
It is said that Panerai began to use the luminous material called Radiomir in 1916 to make instruments and timing tools suitable for military underwater use. However, because Radiomir contains the chemical element of radium, it was later confirmed by the scientific community that it would emit harmful to the human body. Therefore, Panerai began to slowly abandon the use of raw materials that have the advantage of being able to adhere to the surface of the tool in water and glow in the dark environment. Later, in 1949, the brand finally released a new luminous material based on tritium elements, and named it Luminor. In addition to maintaining similar advantages to Radiomir, this material has the most important point that it contains a relatively small amount of radiation, which is used to make watches. It will not affect the human body. Therefore, Luminor was not developed as a watch series at the beginning, but Panerai first developed this luminous material, and then created a new case the next year, and directly named the Luminor luminous material contained on the dial of the watch. .
2. The reason why Luminor uses a pillow-shaped case
In the first half of the 20th century, watches were mainly made of round cases, but why did Luminor and Radiomir adopt pillow-shaped cases instead of round cases? It turns out that this is a coincidence, because the early Panerai was more inclined to sell watches, jewelry and watchmakers, they did not have the ability and equipment to produce their own watches, even if they could assemble their own watches, they still could not cope with what the military needed. The number of products, so the brand had to seek help from third-party manufacturers. You may be a little surprised because the partner Panerai was looking for turned out to be Rolex! Rolex was already known for its Oyster case, which emphasizes water resistance. Therefore, it is only natural that Panerai, who wants to make underwater timepieces, asked Rolex to make watches. Rolex did not have a highly vertical production like today. Ability is similar to the production model of looking for suitable watch parts and combining them. When Panerai was developing the Luminor watch, the main requirement for Rolex was that the diameter of the watch should be large and the watch must be clearly seen in the water. Therefore, they chose to use the pocket watch movement to assemble the watch, and because the art deco style was still popular in that era In the 1940s, the brand chose a pillow-shaped case that looked more special. In particular, Radiomir’s lugs were directly welded at the beginning. It was not until the 1940s that lugs integrated with the case began to appear. This feature continued later. To Luminor. Since then, the pillow-shaped case has become the most classic and signature image of Panerai watches in people's hearts.
3. Luminor's crown bridge protection device is related to the movement used by Panerai
In the middle of the 20th century, the research on diving watches became more and more vigorous, which also derived the screw-in crown, which can greatly improve the waterproof performance of the watch. However, the screw-in crown will cause the accumulation of use times. The thread is smoothed, and the waterproof performance will be affected after the smoothing. Even so, you will find that the classic diving watches born around the 1950s are often equipped with screw-in crowns. The reason is simple: automatic movements at that time The penetration rate of the dipper has become higher, and people have greatly reduced the chance of manual winding, which makes the screw-in type with a diving watch more than enough. But why did Luminor watches have to install a crown guard when they first appeared in the 1950s? In all honesty, the bridge guard is not a creative design, but it can effectively press the crown into the case. Panerai did not install the crown bridge for reasons such as looking to be more dazzling than others or to show off its water resistance. In fact, it was because Panerai’s watches used a high proportion of hand-winding movements at that time, in order to extend It was decided to add an additional bridge guard on the crown of the watch for the service life of the watch. Originally it was just an additional device based on the characteristics of its own products, but it was unexpected that it would become the most representative design of the brand after 70 years.
1. The term Luminor has nothing to do with watches at first
It is said that Panerai began to use the luminous material called Radiomir in 1916 to make instruments and timing tools suitable for military underwater use. However, because Radiomir contains the chemical element of radium, it was later confirmed by the scientific community that it would emit harmful to the human body. Therefore, Panerai began to slowly abandon the use of raw materials that have the advantage of being able to adhere to the surface of the tool in water and glow in the dark environment. Later, in 1949, the brand finally released a new luminous material based on tritium elements, and named it Luminor. In addition to maintaining similar advantages to Radiomir, this material has the most important point that it contains a relatively small amount of radiation, which is used to make watches. It will not affect the human body. Therefore, Luminor was not developed as a watch series at the beginning, but Panerai first developed this luminous material, and then created a new case the next year, and directly named the Luminor luminous material contained on the dial of the watch. .
2. The reason why Luminor uses a pillow-shaped case
In the first half of the 20th century, watches were mainly made of round cases, but why did Luminor and Radiomir adopt pillow-shaped cases instead of round cases? It turns out that this is a coincidence, because the early Panerai was more inclined to sell watches, jewelry and watchmakers, they did not have the ability and equipment to produce their own watches, even if they could assemble their own watches, they still could not cope with what the military needed. The number of products, so the brand had to seek help from third-party manufacturers. You may be a little surprised because the partner Panerai was looking for turned out to be Rolex! Rolex was already known for its Oyster case, which emphasizes water resistance. Therefore, it is only natural that Panerai, who wants to make underwater timepieces, asked Rolex to make watches. Rolex did not have a highly vertical production like today. Ability is similar to the production model of looking for suitable watch parts and combining them. When Panerai was developing the Luminor watch, the main requirement for Rolex was that the diameter of the watch should be large and the watch must be clearly seen in the water. Therefore, they chose to use the pocket watch movement to assemble the watch, and because the art deco style was still popular in that era In the 1940s, the brand chose a pillow-shaped case that looked more special. In particular, Radiomir’s lugs were directly welded at the beginning. It was not until the 1940s that lugs integrated with the case began to appear. This feature continued later. To Luminor. Since then, the pillow-shaped case has become the most classic and signature image of Panerai watches in people's hearts.
3. Luminor's crown bridge protection device is related to the movement used by Panerai
In the middle of the 20th century, the research on diving watches became more and more vigorous, which also derived the screw-in crown, which can greatly improve the waterproof performance of the watch. However, the screw-in crown will cause the accumulation of use times. The thread is smoothed, and the waterproof performance will be affected after the smoothing. Even so, you will find that the classic diving watches born around the 1950s are often equipped with screw-in crowns. The reason is simple: automatic movements at that time The penetration rate of the dipper has become higher, and people have greatly reduced the chance of manual winding, which makes the screw-in type with a diving watch more than enough. But why did Luminor watches have to install a crown guard when they first appeared in the 1950s? In all honesty, the bridge guard is not a creative design, but it can effectively press the crown into the case. Panerai did not install the crown bridge for reasons such as looking to be more dazzling than others or to show off its water resistance. In fact, it was because Panerai’s watches used a high proportion of hand-winding movements at that time, in order to extend It was decided to add an additional bridge guard on the crown of the watch for the service life of the watch. Originally it was just an additional device based on the characteristics of its own products, but it was unexpected that it would become the most representative design of the brand after 70 years.
