We are wondering the new Luminor Due watches venture too far from Panerai’s core identity since it features slimmer cases and reduced water resistance ratings. Or are they just giving the people what they want? Puzzled? Let’s discuss together.
If you’re familiar with Panerai’s history, you will know how much building hefty waterproof watches is paramount to the brand’s identity. After all, during the first half of the 20th century, the popular Panerai’s business was to provide watches to the frogmen of the Royal Italian Navy. Early Panerai fake watches were not made for the public with their massive hermetically sealed cases and highly luminescent dials, but instead, as military-grade instruments to accompany combat divers.
Fast-forward to this century, and the replica Panerai watches are no longer made for servicemen but instead for armies of chic Paneristis who appreciate the bold design of these vintage-inspired luxury fake watches. However, as is the nature of trends, things fall in and out of favor. It’s no secret that there has been a noticeable shift towards smaller men’s watches these days. Naturally, luxury watch brands have taken note and are providing a wider range of sub-40mm timepieces.
Released in 2019, the Luminor Due collection is Panerai’s take on the dress watch. As much as a brand that has been known to make immense 47mm watches with expansive stark dials punched with bold accents and oversized crowns and crown guards can go dressy. 
So there’s no doubt that the first order of business was for Panerai to trim down the cases. The Luminor Due collection currently offers three sizes: 38mm, 42mm, and 45mm. This is the first time Panerai has made a less-than-40mm case and although the company hasn’t categorized them as such, many are convinced that the 38mm sizes are geared as much towards women as they are to men. In addition to smaller sizes, the Luminor Due cases are also notably slimmer than other Panerai models, coming in at 11.2mm thick for the automatic Luminor Due 38 and 10.5mm thick for the manual-wound Luminor Due 42 and 45.
Yet, in order to achieve these slimmer proportions, the Luminor Due watches lost some water resistance, going down to 30 meters instead of the previous 100-meter minimum. And that’s reason for most of the pushback from critics of the new replica Panerai watches.
On the other hand, it’s a good idea to remember that aside from the Submersible collection, Panerai replica watches are not actually regarded as dive watches anymore. They can’t meet the ISO 6425 standards for dive watches without unidirectional bezels. The good news is that the Panerai keeps on producing Luminor and Radiomir watches that do boast the water resistance and case shapes and sizes that they’re known for.
While history is significant to any luxury watch brand’s spirit, it doesn’t have to hold a company hostage when manufacturing watches for today’s tastes.