Remember Minerva?

Well it would seem that Panerai does - and THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT!

Courtesy of Panerai

This is one of three very welcome additions to the Panerai fleet being debuted at SIHH this week.
Leading off is the RADIOMIR 1940 CHRONOGRAPH PLATINO – 45MM.   

There will only be 50 of these.  Here are some details.  Panerai have dubbed this movement the OPXXV.  So what's the Minerva connection?  Well, for starters it is "developed" on a Minerva 13 - 22 base.  And according to Panerai this isn't just solely based on the fact that Richemont "stable-mate" Montblanc "has" Minerva.  

The movement of the new Radiomir 1940 Chronograph is the OP XXV calibre, developed on a Minerva 13-22 base. The Minerva manufacture has had historic links with Panerai since the 1920s, when the Swiss manufacturer was a supplier to the Florentine watchmaker.

As I have said on more than one occasion, Montblanc's "stewardship" of Minerva has not been unlike a hard-core vegan being asked to manage a steak house.  They just haven't really done all they could.  So let's hope this is the start of more good things to come!

Here are the details:

MOVEMENT

 

Hand-wound mechanical, exclusive Panerai OP XXV calibre, 12¾ lignes, 22 jewels, Glucydur® balance, 18,000 alternations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Swan’s neck regulator. Power reserve 55 hours. Côtes de Genève decoration on the bridges.

FUNCTIONS

 

Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph with two counters, tachymeter scale.

CASE

 

Diameter 45 mm, polished platinum. Screw-down winding crown personalised OP. Polished platinum buttons for the chronograph functions at 2 and 4 o’clock.

BEZEL

 Polished platinum.

BACK

 See-through sapphire crystal.

DIAL

 

Ivory with luminous dots and hour markers. Minute counter at 3 o’clock, seconds at 9 o’clock, central chronograph hand. Tachymeter scale on the edge of the dial.

CRYSTAL

 Plexiglas®, 2.8 mm thick.

WATER-RESISTANCE

 5 bar (~ 50 metres).

STRAP

 

PANERAI personalised alligator strap and 18 ct. polished white gold adjustable buckle.

But wait, there's more!  Stay tuned!