FEATURED: PANERAI : The dark seahorse—Luminor Marina Guillaume Néry Edition 

They say the perfect anniversary gift for 70 years is platinum, and while that occasion is rare, it's definitely worth the metal. In the watch world however, anniversaries are celebrated a little differently… Panerai for example is now officially 161 years old, but that’s not what we are commemorating today (although can we just say, bravo Panerai!), we are talking about their iconic Luminor series. The 70 years long journey has been all about constant innovation and a desire to push the boundaries. 

Back when this piece first saw the light of day was in 1950 when the first transition was made from Radiomir to Luminor, this marked the official traverse from tritium to Super-LumiNova (a much safer material) to illuminate the watch. Over the years, the iconic watch has seen almost every material known and unknown to the world of horology. The one thing that remained omnipresent through the voyage was the spirit to usher in new possibilities. 

This year, they decided to pay homage to free diver and brand ambassador Guillaume Néry with a very special edition. The piece comes to life via its materials, illumination and strap. Let's dive in shall we? 

The material 

Starting with the dial, the watch is crafted it black dégradé titanium that is brushed in a way that it appears anthracite grey near its centre and assumes a deep black shade adjacent the inner case walls. As these shades extend into the bezel one simply can’t miss the black rubberised coating the bezel, crown and bridge lever. The dial is shielded with a convex sapphire crystal and supported with recycled PET strap with white stitching and a trapezoidal pin buckle.

The details 

The case is made using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technology, a form of 3D printing and the caseback comes to life with Guillaume Néry branding and executed in sandblasted titanium with DLC coating. Also, each of the limited 70 pieces come with a white rubber technical strap with a luminescent “Officine Panerai” personalisation, along with a screwdriver to remove the buckle and a recycled plastic box engraved with the signature of Panerai ambassador Guillaume Néry.

The movement 

The 44mm timepiece houses the latest in-house caliber P.9010, a self-winding movement measuring only 6 mm. Challenging as it may sound, this slim powerhouse features double barrels that give you a three day power reserve, 300 meter water resistance and a quick time adjustment function that can move forward or backward in increments of one hour.

The best part? It comes with a whopping 70 year guarantee (that will sound really great on your will), that will surely leave you at ease when you are at sea or at bay.