Christie’s is excited to be able to offer to international collectors this outstanding limited edition skeletonized hand-wound dual-time black ceramic tourbillon wristwatch.

Released in 2014, only 150 examples of Panerai ‘Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica’ were made. Through the domed crystal and display back, the visible skeletonized movement is an impressive sight, many of the parts have been galvanically blackened to perfectly complement the black ceramic of the case. The tourbillon, unusually, has a 30-second rotation instead of the more usual one-minute rotation resulting in a visually compelling high-precision movement. The running seconds at 9 o'clock is allied to the tourbillon's rotation and it therefore also makes its revolution once every 30 seconds. The central GMT hand has a corresponding AM/PM register for the second time zone positioned at 3 o’clock. An impressive power reserve of 6 days is provided by three mainspring barrels.

With a diameter of 48 mm, the case is composed of a high-tech titanium-ceramic made of zirconium oxide. The use of ceramic allows the case to remain relatively light for its size and in addition it is five times harder than steel providing extreme hardness and scratch resistance and of course, striking good looks.

Officine Panerai
The company was founded in Florence by Giovanni Panerai in 1860 and became world-famous as the official supplier of precision instruments to the Italian Royal Navy. Today, Panerai’s distinctive and unique minimalist aesthetic drawn from its military past is admired by collectors of haute horology the world over.