The watch, introduced in January at the SIHH watch fair in Geneva, has a case and bracelet made entirely of matte black ceramic. Its Luminor 1950 case is 44 mm in diameter and has the brand’s trademark crown protector. The dial is of Panerai’s well-known “sandwich” construction, with ecru-colored Super-LumiNova on the numerals and hands (including the tip of the center-mounted GMT hand) for nighttime visibility. The small seconds hand and markers, in a subdial at 9 o’clock, and the date, in a window at 3 o’clock, are also treated with the luminous material. (Click on the photos for larger images.)
The bracelet’s links are constructed from the same ceramic, and using the same process, as the case, and are attached to a PVD-coated, brushed steel buckle that seamlessly blends into the all-black theme. Each link is curved and asymmetrical, which lends the bracelet a soft, comfortable feel on the wrist.
The ceramic Panerai uses for the Tuttonero is a synthetic material based on zirconium oxide powder, which acquires a very uniform appearance and a high degree of hardness — about five times greater than that of stainless steel — through a complex finishing process. The ceramic is also uncommonly resistant to scratches, corrosion and high temperatures.
Inside the dusky case is Panerai’s P.9001 caliber, developed and constructed at the brand’s manufacture in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It is an automatic movement with (as implied in the model name) a three-day power reserve and a seconds-reset function. Consistent with the watch’s all-black aesthetic, the movement, which is visible through a dark-tinted sapphire crystal in the caseback, has gone through a blackening process to give it the same sleek, matte-black look as the case. The name “Tuttonero” is engraved on the caseback. The watch, which is limited to 500 pieces, carries a U.S. retail price of $16,300.
Movement: Panerai P.9001/B, automatic; diameter = 13 3/4 lignes; thickness = 7.9 mm; 229 components; 29 jewels; 28,800 vph; Glucydur balance; Incabloc shock protection; two barrels for three-day power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, second time zone indication, power reserve indication on back, seconds reset
Case and bracelet: Matte black ceramic case, diameter = 44 mm, 2.3-mm-thick sapphire crystal with nonreflective coating, exhibition caseback, crown protector in black ceramic, water-resistant to 100 meters; bracelet in black ceramic, steel buckle with hard black coating
Dial and hands: Black “sandwich” dial with luminous Arabic numerals and hour markers; date in window at 3 o’clock, small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, luminous hands
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