Panerai watches do not exactly meet the dress watch criteria

A dress watch is linked to tradition. When we think about a dress watch we think about a confident, handsome cosmopolitan gentleman, who is perfectly and elegantly dressed from early in the morning until late in the evening without ever being tired and grumpy. Occasionally he shows a glimpse of his wrist watch or pocket watch, not to show off but because he has to catch the Orient Express to Vienna or because he is lowering his arm to pick up his leather briefcase.This gentleman did not wear a watch during important events or gatherings when he wanted to show that being with the other people was more important than time. Examples are funerals, anniversaries, and even dates and important meetings.

However we live in the 21st century. Both men and women appreciate understatement, subtlety, and elegance in fake watches. Important gatherings also have deadlines. So what is a‘modern dress watch’? Is it an oxymoron or is it real?. After all, a dress watch is linked to tradition.In our view, the modern dress watch is subtle, understated, and elegant. Its main function is to tell the time and while it should be possible to pair with business attire under a shirt & jacket, dinner outfit, and tuxedo, this is not a necessity. The modern man (or women) also likes to wear an elegant dress watch when he (or she) wears jeans and a shirt. A dress watch is a dress watch. It comes in various sizes, however typically with a thin(ner) case and with a diameter of less than 40mm – but does not need to be – and it’s made of precious metal. As the watch is about understatement and subtlety, complications are mostly hidden and dials are simple and quickly legible.Introducing the Panerai Luminor Due: A Contemporary Dress Watch for Men (and Women)

Panerai watches do not exactly meet the dress watch criteria. Especially the case thickness of most of their line-up, that easily exceeds 15/16mm, got in the way. Panerai owners had to turn to other brands when they “dressed up” for a special event, however the Luminor Due collection changes that. The new model, launched at the Florence event in May, has a redesigned case that has a thickness of 10,50mm as well as a redesigned dial. The new Luminor Due doesn’t loose Panerai’s DNA, like the classic crown protecting device with sealing lever, the typical Arabic numerals and the multi-layer dial. That is quite an achievement. The main challenge was to strike a balance between the thickness and the winding comfort of the crown. The hublot replica design team definitely succeeded, and especially the Luminor Due Oro Rosso with its attractive anthracite dial qualifies as a dress watch, in our opinion.