Panerai was founded in 1860 in the city of Florence. It was a time of great upheaval in Italian history and Florence specifically, as it replaced Turin as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. This started a process where across the next few decades large portions of the medieval city were torn down in an effort to modernise and improve infrastructure as befitting the new capital (even after the capital later changed to Rome) and that destruction included the original workshop where Panerai had been established. After a period of moving around various locations, Panerai finally settled into a boutique at Piazza San Giovanni in 1926 – an important date because it makes 2026 the 100th anniversary of the boutique. To celebrate this history, Panerai has launched the Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni PAM01734 and PAM01794 limited editions.
Both watches are inspired by a rare Luminor ref. 6152/1 from the 1960s that features the inscription Panerai Firenze at 12 o’clock – Firenze being the Italian name for Florence. That original watch is on display as part of the anniversary celebrations at the “Immersion” exhibition. That inscription has been recreated on the dials of both references here.
PAM01734 combines the Firenze logo with a green circular brushed dial while the PAM01794 pairs it with grey. However, that’s not the biggest difference between the two. PAM01734 is the high end luxury edition made from platinumtech (Panerai’s specific platinum alloy) with 100m water resistance while the PAM01794 is a more authentic tool watch made from steel with 300m water resistance. Both measure 44mm, a classic Panerai case sizing but actually a reduction from the vintage ref. 6152/1 at 47mm.
Another detail that’s easy to overlook, but which is a direct reference to the vintage model, is the special crown protection bridge on the platinumtech edition. The normal crown protection bridge on the steel version has completely flat surfaces on the top and bottom but on the platinum there are grooves built into it that flow down towards the crown. This was an experimental design from the 1960s that was not adopted as standard, developed with the idea of improving the usability of the crown by making it easier to wind while wearing gloves, which makes sense because the ref. 6152/1 is manual winding.
Powering the Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni (both versions) is also a manual winding movement: the P.5000 calibre. It uses a twin barrel construction to provide an 8-day power reserve, equivalent to 192 hours. Panerai have a history of producing watches with extended power reserves and it makes sense to showcase that for this Florence boutique 100th anniversary celebration series.
For availability and pricing, the platinumtech PAM01734 is limited to 100 pieces at £47,200 while the steel PAM01794 is limited to 1,000 pieces at £9,200. There isn’t really an equivalent watch to this in platinumtech already, so that price is completely original. However, we know the standard steel Luminor 8 Giorni is £6,400, so it’s a pretty substantial increase for the exclusivity of the Firenze dial and adapted crown protector.
