News: Panerai Luminor 1950 EOT 8 Days GMT
The Earth, as you might know, is tilted on its axis and has an elliptical orbit around the Sun. This means that ‘solar time’—that is, time measured on Earth from the position of the Sun in the sky—varies throughout the year. To compensate for this, most watches tell ‘mean solar time’, which gives us a consistent unit of time to operate from. This ‘civilian time’ can deviate from solar time by as much as 15 minutes—and an equation of time complication is a method of determining the difference between solar and civilian time.
Though it might no be the most useful of complications, it’s still nonetheless a very interesting function—and a feat of technical prowess. So it makes sense that Panerai has released two limited edition pieces featuring this intriguing complication, the PAM00656 and the PAM00670, to make a striking addition any Panerai collection.
The equation of time function comes in the form of a linear indicator on the dial above 6 o’clock, which displays a variation from solar time by plus or minus 15 minutes. In addition to this unique feature, the watch boasts a number of somewhat more practical functions that are desirable enough in their own right. As well as regular time, the watch has a GMT display and a date function that tells both the day and the month.
The sun-brushed sandwich dial comes in two options, a midnight blue colour or in deep brown, both of which are punctuated by wide, luminous hands and Arabic numerals. The distinctively shaped Luminor case measures 47mm in diameter and comes in brushed titanium.
Powering the watches is the in-house P.2002/E, which boasts an impressive power reserve of 8 days—the indicator for which can be found through the exhibition caseback.
