Panerai has expanded its Radiomir collection with this exciting new timepiece that offers a rather appealing combination of the iconic “California” dial with a faux-patinaed, pre-worn look. Revealed at the Watches and Wonders 2023, the new Panerai Radiomir California PAM01349 has all the qualities to be loved by Panerai collectors. The highlight of the new piece, obviously, is the California-style dial which can trace back its roots to the legendary Ref 3646, which was first produced by Panerai in the 1930s with Rolex. It features a distinctive alternation of Roman and Arabic numerals along with bar markers and a railway track minute circle. The dial in the new timepiece has a grained surface and smoked finish, giving it a vintage look.
Panerai has downsized the California model for the very first time from 47mm to a more wearable and attractive 45mm size. The case is made of Panerai’s new Brunito eSteel. While eSteel refers to an alloy made of recycled steel, Brunito is Italian for burnished, which is related to the process used by the watch brand to give the case a pre-worn, patinaed look. The process involves giving the eSteel case a slight PVD coating layer which is then gently brushed by hand, giving the case a vintage-style appearance.
Housed inside is Panerai’s in-house manually wound caliber P.5000 mechanical movement that features just the hours and minutes and offers an impressive eight days of power reserve. A vintage-style brown “Ponte Vecchio” calf-leather strap with a matching Brunito steel buckle rounds off the timepiece. The Radiomir California is priced at $12,300 and will only be available for purchase at Panerai boutiques around the world.
