Editor’s Note: Need a quick watch fix? This preview of the new Panerai Geneva Boutique Special Edition Luminor PAM02121 is a GET TO THE POINT (GTTP) review with all the info you want / need to know QUICK. For our actual hands-on reviews, please head to the dedicated section here. Now let’s get to the point.
What Is It
The new Panerai Luminor PAM02121 featuring a 44mm DLC-coated titanium case and bezel with a sandwich-style grey fume gradient dial with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers.
Inside ticks the 35.7mm (15½ lignes) diameter and 4.5mm thick hand-wound mechanical movement calibre P.5000. The P.5000 if I remember correctly debuted with the PAM 510 and the PAM 511. It beats at the frequency of 3Hz, features 21 jewels and 127 components, Glucydur™ balance, KIF Parechoc™ anti-shock device, and two barrels for that super impressive 8-day power reserve.
The 300m water-resistant watch also features a screw-down closed case-back, again in titanium, and comes on a recycled grey strap with the stereotypical trapezoidal steel clasp (with PVD black coating).
Why & When
The new Panerai Luminor PAM02121 is released in very limited numbers of 121-pieces only to mark the launch of “Modularità Espressiva”, the brand’s latest Flagship concept boutique.
First announced in January 2022.
Where
The new Panerai Luminor PAM02121 is exclusively available at this new store, at 21 Rue du Rhône in Geneva.
Who Are The Store & Luminor PAM02121 For
At 44mm diameter, the PAM02121 is a large watch no doubt, especially considering the ~53mm lug-to-lug spacing and ~15mm thickness of the ‘Bettarini’ — named after the head of Panerai’s mechanical design department back in the 90s Alessandro Bettarini — case. For someone like me with ~16cm wrists, this is sadly not the way to go.
But Panerai watches are known for their large sizes and for anyone who would want a very limited piece with all the Panerai hallmarks and exceptional legibility with a stealth but elegant appeal, the new Luminor PAM02121 is definitely the way to go.
As for the new boutique, anyone who is a die-hard fan of the brand should find themselves deeply immersed in, and impressed by, the stunning execution of the concept store.
As an architect it always piques my curiosity when brands open stand alone boutiques; rather than being generic, these should imbibe the very DNA of a brand’s design philosophy and be built as an extension of the brand’s products. Breitling of late under the tutelage of Georges Kern has been doing some exceptional work with their boutiques.
Panerai is following suit with boutiques that showcase the marriage of Swiss craftsmanship with Italian design heritage.
“The duplex, named “Modularità Espressiva”, is the first of its kind, showcasing the sophistication of Swiss watchmaking artistry and an illustrious history of design inheritance from Italy.”
Press release
How Do The Store & Luminor PAM02121 Do
Both the design of the boutique and the timepiece leaves me impressed.
Modular design and homage to the brand’s Italian roots seems to be the motto behind this concept store.
Elements such as Panerai’s iconic luminous green wall clock, a large video-wall on which products can be projected and magnified, TV screens and touchscreen monitors, a wall with portholes through which customers can immerse themselves in the world of Panerai, a causal lounge that transforms into a formal dining room, an original Vespa from 1956, a library, and an Art Deco style bar that serves as both “a café and drinks bar as well as an interactive rotating shelf through which customers can play and discover their favorite strap and case combination” welcome those in search of a unique brand experience.
The brand also informs us that this “new creative concept, “Modularità Espressiva”, will be soon adopted in Panerai boutiques all over the world, redesigning the brand’s relationship with its customers”.
Coming back to the new Panerai Luminor PAM02121, the use of grainy fume dial set against the backdrop of a dark, brooding DLC-coated titanium case with glow-in-the-dark-esque numerals is uber cool. Add to that the 8-day power reserve of the calibre P.5000, the 300m water-resistance, the welcome engraving on the case back of Geneva’s Jet d’Eau fountain, and the inclusion of two straps — one in recycled-based PET and another in green rubber — finds one in possession of a stellar timepiece.
From a sensory and visual extravaganza that the new store is, to the handsome new timepiece, with a stellar flagship concept store and the new Luminor PAM02121, Panerai is starting 2022 with a bang.
To find out more about the new Panerai Luminor PAM02121 and other Panerai watches, please head to their website here. All images unless otherwise stated are © 2021 PANERAI.
