Watches and Wonders: Chopard Launches Five New...
Time Suspended: Whimsical Hermès Novelties Live...
Watches and Wonders: Jaeger-LeCoultre Showcases a...
Panerai presents a brand-new professional diving instrument that goes back to the very roots of the brand. Let's go hands-on!
Panerai’s origins are intertwined with the sea and the world of professional diving thanks to its connections to the Italian Royal Navy. The Italian military was one of the brand’s very first major clients, and its needs for high precision, durable horological instruments capable of serving Italian divers during the First and Second World Wars and beyond was an important force in defining the Panerai identity.
Panerai’s Submersible range of timepieces evolved from its iconic Luminor line. The Submersible models are labeled “Survival Instruments,” a fitting description. And this claim is backed up by extreme ruggedness, water resistance, use of high-tech materials, and tough and reliable in-house automatic movements that come with a three-day power reserve.
Last year, our Submersible line became a standalone line. The Submersible line is the most adventurous part of our assortment. It is the line that is associated with the performance of extreme diving. This is what Panerai is coming from, the diving exercise. So, it’s a 42mm size despite the brand being very strong in the 47mm Submersible
The new Panerai Submersible Azzurro 42mm ref. PAM01209 from a number of striking pieces that we have featured here on Watchonista. For some background, check out the Panerai Submersible Carbotech, the Panerai Submersible Bronzo, or the Panerai Submersible Marina Militare Carbotech, for example.
We have discovered over the last 6 months that the traffic on our internet site has been extremely, extremely active. Last year we launched the Submersible 42mm Verde edition, which was a very important success as we were out of stock after a couple of days. And we are coming this year with the new Azzurro which is a Submersible 42mm in titanium with a ceramic bezel
Evoking the colors of the sea, this new Submersible comes in a satin-finished steel case with a brushed unidirectional rotating bezel enhanced with matte blue ceramic and features a graduated scale. Like with all the Submersibles, toughness and resistance hold center stage with a water resistance of 300-meters, a screwed-in caseback, and the brand’s iconic safety-lock crown protector.
The dial comes in matte black and features Panerai’s bold indices, hands, and dots. All of which have been highlighted with a luminescence that gives off an aquatic green/blue color at night. There are two strap options – a black rubber strap with a trapezoidal pin buckle in brushed steel and a black Sportech Velcro version. The watch also comes with a tool for changing the straps and a screwdriver to change the buckle.
The Panerai Submersible Azzurro 42mm is powered by Panerai’s in-house P. 900 automatic caliber that comes with an impressive three-day power reserve and features the hours and minutes in the center, the small seconds in a sub-dial at 9 o’clock, and the date at 3 o’clock. This accurate, resistant, and high-performing movement is the first proprietary self-winding Panerai movement of its diameter and thickness (4.2mm) to combine a date function with a three-day power reserve.
It’s a new way to approach our brand. We have seen this new demand has been especially active in the last two years for Panerai. But especially, of course, the last six months, when many people were faced with closed stores or dealers. It’s also a way for us to be present in a segment where we can stage the brand
It's important to note that the new Submersible Azzurro 42mm is an online exclusive, only available at the brand’s e-commerce site. When we asked Panerai's CEO Pontroué about this, he added, "We have more than 1,300,000 people visiting us each month on our internet site. And we want to make it an ecosystem where our customers - and newcomers to the brand - love to visit. That is why we invented, recently, PAMCAST (read HERE), which is like a television network that is feeding the brand every day with new stories."
“We will have limited quantities, as we say very often. The idea is to continue to feed the development of the brand with concepts which are not overexaggerated, in terms of quantity. So, that manifests as only 500 units for this model.” says Pontroué.
Coming in a limited edition of 500 pieces, the Panerai Submersible Azzurro 42mm will be available for sale exclusively online at the brand’s e-commerce site.
(Photography by Pierre Vogel)
