Panerai Radiomir Annual Calendar Goes Luxe in Gold and Platinum

When Watches & Wonders rolls around, the pattern with Panerai is usually the same: the launch of a fully-fledged collection featuring three or four models . Last year we had the genesis of the QuarantaQuattro and the year before that, the focus on sustainable timepieces like the eLab. For 2023, they’re doing something a little bit different byarevisiting one of their most iconic heritage models, the Radiomir, a watch originally designed for the Italian military in 1935. One of the most interesting new releases is the Panerai Radiomir Annual Calendar.

Unlike a couple of the other Radiomirs being released, the Annual Calendar leans more towards luxury than the traditional Italian Military aesthetic. That’s immediately made clear by the case materials used on the two references. PAM01363 with its blue dial is produced in Goldtech while the burgundy dialled PAM01432 has a Platinumtech case – Panerai’s proprietary alloys of gold and platinum respectively. Both measure 45mm in diameter.

However, the distinctive cushion case and those materials are things we’ve seen before. It’s the dial and movement that are completely new. This is Panerai’s first annual calendar, sitting between a regular calendar complication and a perpetual calendar (both of which Panerai has done before) in terms of horological prestige. It displays time, days, date and months while only requiring adjustment once per year to remain accurate.

In order to accommodate for the new month indicator, Panerai have created a peripheral disc that rotates around the circumference of the dial. The current month is indicated by an arrow situated at 3 o’clock next to the day and date apertures. This means you can read the day, date and month in sequence at a glance. It’s worth noting that the text references for the months and days are given in Italian. My coffee deprived brain was wondering why March was in two locations on the watch but it’s actually martedi and marzo.

Of course, with the introduction of a new complication comes a new calibre, the in-house P.9010/AC with automatic winding and a 72-hour power reserve courtesy of a double barrel system. It’s also equipped with the Incabloc anti-shock device, so it still has the durability typically associated with diving watches, even though platinum and gold are the last materials you’d want to take a bash with.

It’s also worth noting that the PAM01432 is one of Panerai’s Experience Editions, which means that when you purchase the watch you’ll be invited to Italy for a curated experience. Previous Experience Editions like the Forze Speciali involved putting the rugged watch through its paces with the Italian military, but given the refined nature of the Annual Calendar, this experience is more about a historical tour of Italy.