Panerai Luminor 1950 – A Rich History

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Panerai Luminor 1950

The Panerai Luminor 1950 is one one the most popular watches in line of timepieces created by the Italian watchmaker Office Panerai (see reviews here). These iconic, durable and dependable designs were originally trademarked in 1949 featuring a new self-luminous substance, “Luminor” which followed it’s successful predecessor, the “Radiomir”. The Luminescent substance that is now the basis of the Panerai Luminor 1950, was originally designed to increase the night vision accuracy for viewing watch dials used by the Italian Navy commandos on missions during World War II.

The Luminor goes back to the story of Giovanni Panerai, an Italian watchmaker in Florence, Italy who owned a shop, workshop and started the cities first watchmaking school in the late 1800’s. In 1916, Panerai is supplying precision instruments to the Italian Royal Navy and develops the “Radiomir” which uses a highly visible luminescent paint adhesive made from radium. This was to the first of many advanced technological patents issued to Panerai.

The Iconic Panerai Luminor 1950 Case

The Luminor case itself, which has become iconic in it’s own right, was created as an upgrade of the Radiomir, to be increasingly more water resistant and providing more protection to shield the watch crown with a new protective bridge. This crown protection has become part of the look that defines a Panerai Luminor 1950 from any other watch brand. The wire lugs we’re replaced with a new design also as the upgraded strap attachments we’re now being made from the same block of steel.

The quality of the stainless steel was important to Panerai as they only use AISI 316L 1.4435 stainless steel which is highly resistant to corrosion and hypoallergenic to the users skin. The Panerai timepieces designed for the Italian Navy used an incredibly reliable austentic stainless steel which is resistant to extreme environmental conditions.

Panerai Luminor 1950 Technical Specifications

The typical movement of a Paneral Luminor 1950 features a hand wound mechanical setup with the Panerai P.3000 calibre, Glucydur balance and anti-shock device with 160 components and typically 3 days of power reserve, although some models can go longer. The movements are designed to withstand temperature variations between -10°C and +60°C (14°F and 140°F). The dials can typically range from black and white with Hours, Minutes, luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers, a see-through sapphire crystal back,  3mm thick Plexiglass and 10 bar or 100 meters of water resistance. The case is typically 47mm of polished steel but can also be found of rose gold or titanium. Leather straps are the most common strap used by users but some models can feature stainless steel or rubber.

Panerai Luminor 1950 Collection

Panerai Luminor 1950 Collection

The Panerai Luminor 1950 Watch Collection

  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS ACCIAIO – PAM00372
  • LUMINOR 1950 LEFT-HANDED 3 DAYSACCIAIO – PAM00557
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00523
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00392
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00499
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00359
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00312
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00328
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00351
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00352
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ORO ROSSO – PAM00393
  • LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00305
  • LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950 AMAGNETIC 3 DAYS AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00389
  • LUMINOR MARINA 1950 3 DAYS ACCIAIO – PAM00422
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS POWER RESERVE ACCIAIO – PAM00423
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00535
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00320
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00329
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT AUTOMATIC CERAMICA – PAM00441
  • TUTTONERO – PAM00438
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT 24HAUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00531
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT POWER RESERVE AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00537
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT POWER RESERVE AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00321
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS GMT POWER RESERVE AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00347
  • LUMINOR 1950 8 DAYS GMT ACCIAIO – PAM00233
  • LUMINOR 1950 10 DAYS CERAMICA – PAM00335
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00524
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC CERAMICA – PAM00580
  • LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC ORO ROSSO – PAM00525
  • LUMINOR 1950 REGATTA 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00526
  • LUMINOR 1950 CHRONO MONOPULSANTE 8 DAYS GMT TITANIO – PAM00311
  • LUMINOR 1950 CHRONO MONOPULSANTE 8 DAYS GMT CERAMICA – PAM00317
  • LUMINOR 1950 RATTRAPANTE 8 DAYS TITANIO – PAM00530
  • LUMINOR 1950 RATTRAPANTE 8 DAYS TITANIO – PAM00530
  • LUMINOR 1950 8 DAYS GMT ORO ROSA – PAM00289
  • LUMINOR 1950 CHRONO MONOPULSANTE 8 DAYS GMT ACCIAIO – PAM00275
  • LUMINOR 1950 10 DAYS ACCIAIO – PAM00270
  • LUMINOR 1950 10 DAYS GMT AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO – PAM00533
  • LUMINOR 1950 8 DAYS GMT ORO ROSSO – PAM00576
  • LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 19503 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00614
  • LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 19503 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC TITANIO – PAM00615
  • LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950CARBOTECH ™ 3 DAYSAUTOMATIC – PAM00616