The Mamas and The Papas’ legendary hit California Dreamin’ could be the official anthem for the paneristi, Panerai watch collectors, given the love for the famed dial nicknamed “California.” What’s so special about it? Inspired by the first Radiomir from 1936, its clever layout features luminescent indices, Roman and Arabic numerals. Between 2006 and today, the transalpine brand has drop-fed limited series with this design making each new release is an event, the chance for a dream to come true. The new Luminor 1950 3 Days Titanio DLC is sure to be snapped up and there are only 300 available. What’s more, this timepiece oozes Officine style. The classic cushion-shape case and crown protector, in titanium with a DLC coating, houses the manual wind in-house P.3000 calibre (72-hour power reserve). This special edition comes with a dark brown leather strap. Price: 10,900 CHF. Dan Diaconu

Designed for the deep sea depths with its sturdy satin-finish 47mm titanium case, signature crown protection bridge and water-resistance to 300m, the Luminor Submersible 1950 has a self-winding P.9100 calibre made in Switzerland by Panerai on deck. Aside from the 72-hour power reserve, it also fuels the time and flyback chronograph functions. The black dial is wrapped in a graduated rotating bezel with a matt black ceramic ring. The hours are luminescent dots and Arabic 6 and 12 numerals tracked by two openwork spear-shape hour and minute hands whilst the seconds tick by in a counter at 9. Two slim hands, one blue and one rhodium-plated, in the centre respectively count the chronograph seconds and minutes. The hour counter and its blue hand lie at 3 o’ clock. Price: 15,400 CHF

The most Italian watch brand in Switzerland pays tribute to its home city of Florence. Founder Giovanni Panerai opened a watchmaking workshop in the Tuscan capital in 1860. It has since become the flagship store whose windows showcase its very own exclusively designed timepiece: Radiomir Firenze. The brushed steel case has been engraved with typical Florentine shapes and forms, reminiscent of those on the Santa Maria Novella basilica, including the famous fleur-de-lys which has been on the city’s coat of arms for 10 centuries. The sculpted case houses a manual wind in-house movement (P.3000) which provides a 72-hour power reserve (3 days) and brings the hours and minutes to life. The time functions appear on the black sunburst dial as two luminescent hands gliding above phosphorescent oversize Arab numerals and indices. Price: 18,800 €

Designed in 1949 and finalised in 1950, the Luminor collection still has the same instantly recognisable design features 65 years on: the cushion-shaped case has an oversized crown guard and “sandwich” dial with large Arabic numerals. This 44mm black sandblasted ceramic model houses a self-winding P.9100 chronograph calibre which brings to life the time, chronograph and date functions. The hours, minutes and seconds on the black dial are pointed out by two luminescent hands in the centre which glide over the numbers, indices, small seconds at 9 o’ clock and date display at 3. A blue hand points to the chronograph seconds whilst a rhodium-plated one shows the minutes. Two pushers at 8 and 10 o’ clock on the case side enable you to start, flyback, stop and restart the chronograph seconds. Price upon request

Luminor is the name of the luminescent substance which replaced the radium-based material (radioactive alkaline earth metal) in 1949 which was used up to then in the Panerai watches and inspired the watchmaker to create a new collection of the same name. The cushion-shaped Luminor 1950 case and its crown guard began to appear on people’s wrists, mainly Italian soldiers, from 1950. It returned in 2014 in a special version for left-handed people or those who like to wear their watch on the right-hand side. Fitted with a manual P.3000 calibre inside the 47mm steel case, the Luminor’s hour and minute functions lie in the centre of the black dial. Its dial is faithful to Panerai’s design and functional values with large Arabic numerals (3, 6, 9 and 12) intercalated with long indices which all glow in the dark with the Super LumiNova sandwiched between the dial and metal plaque. Price 9,300 CHF

71 years after designing its first chronograph, Officine Panerai presents three pieces forged out of precious metals whose design is heavily inspired by the Florentine watchmaker’s 1940s models. Whether the 45mm cushion-shaped case is in white gold, rose gold or platinum, each model is limited to 100 watches. On the platinum version, the ivory dial features luminescent indices and markers beneath hour and minute hands, small seconds at 9 o’ clock, chronograph seconds in the middle and the 30-minute counter at 3 o’ clock plus a tachymeter scale around the rim. It’s the same layout on the black dial on the white gold version whilst the chocolate dial on the rose gold model has graphic indices and Roman numerals. The manual-wind OPXXV chronograph calibre equips this Radiomir 1940 collection to bring the time and chronograph functions to life and provides a 55-hour power reserve. Price: 67,600 CHF (platinum) – 50,800 CHF (rose gold) – 52,900 CHF (white gold)