Panerai starts the new year off with a bang with the unveiling of a very vintage looking addition to their collection, the Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni. Created as a tribute to the brand's early days as a provider of timepieces to the italian navy, the Composite Marina Militare has a great look with its composite aluminum and ceramic case, its vintage looking dial, and my favorite - a weathered looking brown strap. Who says brand new needs to look brand new? Some of Panerai's most valeued and collectible watches are from their early days and I believe this watch will certainly grow to match the popularity of its predecessors.

The new Radiomir Composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni has a large 47 mm diameter case produced from a composite aluminum and ceramic creating a durable and beautiful shell to house the P2002/7 8-day calibre movement. This lightweight composite was born due to an electrochemical process of ceramization of the aluminum creating a case that is harder than one produced from ceramics, steel or titanium. The case and the crown of the watch are a matt brown which does an excellent job of complimenting the brown of the dial. And of course my favorite part, the vintage leather brown strap completes the look.

The sandwich-constructed dial is completed with ecru colored indexes and numerals with the small-seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock, the words Marina Militare at 12 o'clock and Panerai and the inscription 8 giorni brevettato (inspired by the historic Panerai models) just to the right of 3 o'clock. The dial is protected by a sapphire crystal, formed of corundum, which is 1.9 mm thick treated with anti-reflective coating. The Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni will be limited production of just 1000 pieces.