Panerai has one of the most dedicated collector followings of any brand, so much so that they have their own nickname, the Paneristi. Even when the watch collecting zeitgeist and trends move away from oversize tool watches, the Paneristi know what they want and continue to support Panerai’s signature large divers. A true Paneristi would also know that while the Submersible’s signature size is 44mm, there has never been a Submersible 44mm on metal bracelet before, until now and the launch of the PAM01756.
While Panerai could have taken the easy route by taking one of the existing Submersible 44mm models and updating it with a new bracelet, they haven’t. The PAM01756 is a new reference within the collection with a completely new dial. It features a sunray brushed black dial with a blue dive timer bezel and crucially it’s a time-only wristwatch. There is no date window at 3 o’clock as seen on all other standard Submersible 44mm models.
That’s because it’s based on the recent Navy SEALs special edition. Like the Navy SEALs version, it uses a lumed index for the 3 o’clock hour marker instead of the date or, in the case of the Mike Horn special edition which is the only other time-only model, an Arabic numeral. It’s cool to see an aesthetic feature that was widely popular when it was introduced on a special edition make its way to a core collection model.
However, as noted in the introduction the biggest feature of the PAM01756 is that it’s the first Submersible 44mm on a metal bracelet. The styling of the bracelet is the same as seen on smaller models like the 42mm PAM02068. What that means is that it uses what is technically an H-link design but with a half-circle structure across the top half of each link that makes it look totally different. That half-circle is designed to emulate the shape of the iconic crown protection system used on the Submersible. It gives the watch a much more imposing, impressive presence on the wrist, especially with how the light plays off the alternating brushed and polished finishes.
The watch’s water resistance is also based on the Navy SEALs edition too at 500m water. That gives it proper dive watch utility even for intense activities such as saturation diving. However, while you might expect it to be powered by the same movement as the Navy SEALs as well, it’s not. Instead, it upgrades the calibre P.900 to the newer calibre P.980 with 72-hour power reserve and hacking seconds. The movement is protected by a screwed steel caseback that helps support that water resistance.
Between the high specs of the case and movement alongside the addition of the full steel bracelet, the PAM01756 catapults itself to the top of the steel submersible price list. It’s £11,000. In terms of value, I think the biggest comparison has to be to the Navy SEALSs version which is £9,100 and really all that’s different is the strap and the lack of hacking seconds. Is that difference worth £1,900? If you’re a Paneristi who has been longing for a metal bracelet Submersible 44mm with a passion for years, it could well be.
Price and Specs:
More details at Panerai.
There have been submersibles in titanium/steel bracelets in the past (which I wish Panerai will produce again!), the pam 00106 and 00170. But this is all steel and I, and several others most likely, have only done so by fitting a steel bracelet on a pam 00024 or 00243.