Watch Paparazzi

Actor Dwayne The Rock Johnson spotted wearing Panerai

On the working set of 'Hobbs and Shaw,' the Fast & Furious spin-off that cast Dwayne Johnson as a hard-knuckled DSS agent, a sharp-eyed observer caught something worth pausing over on the actor's wrist: a Panerai Radiomir Ceramica in the PAM00384 reference. It is the kind of watch that holds its own against a 6-foot-5 frame without looking theatrical — which is exactly the point.

The PAM00384 is a 44mm cushion-case Radiomir built from polished ceramic rather than the brand's more familiar stainless steel. Ceramic gives the case an almost matte, light-absorbing depth that photographs dramatically and resists both scratches and the casual knocks of an active lifestyle. The black sandwich dial — constructed in the classic Panerai two-layer tradition — carries applied hour indices in a warm silver tone with luminous fill, and a small-seconds subdial sits at 9 o'clock in strict compliance with Panerai's historical references dating back to the Italian Navy commando watches of the 1930s and '40s. Power comes from the manually-wound Calibre P.999, offering a 72-hour reserve and a frequency of 21,600 vph.

For collectors, the Radiomir Ceramica occupies an interesting niche. Ceramic Panerais have always attracted enthusiasts who want the brand's brutalist aesthetic with an engineering upgrade — the material is harder than steel, chemically inert, and hypoallergenic. The PAM00384 was produced in a limited run, which has helped sustain its appeal on the secondary market even as Panerai's broader catalogue has expanded considerably since its Swiss-ownership era under Richemont.

Johnson's relationship with serious watches is well documented. He has appeared publicly in Panerais on multiple occasions, and the choice makes a certain biographical sense: Panerai's tool-watch DNA and oversized proportions suit both his physical stature and his action-hero screen persona. Wearing it on an active film set rather than a red carpet signals genuine preference over performative accessorising.

At original retail the PAM00384 carried a list price of approximately $13,000. On the grey market the reference has settled somewhat lower, trading around $10,500 — reflecting broader softness in the mid-tier pre-owned Panerai segment rather than any deficiency in the watch itself. For collectors watching the Radiomir ceramic variants, this remains a historically grounded, technically capable reference at a relatively accessible entry point.