Panerai’s New Dive Watch Mechanically Generates Luminescence. Here’s How.
Panerai has been inventing new ways of illuminating dive watches as far back as the First World War. In 1916, it created a radium-based powder, dubbed Radiomir, to light up maritime instruments for the Italian Royal Navy, and by 1935 it was being used on military-dive-watch prototypes. Luminor, a tritium-based luminescent substance with low, harmless emissions was patented and approved for use by the company in 1949; 17 years later, Panerai pioneered the use of a new material called Elux, deploying it to light up command centers, internal signaling boards, and pathways for helicopters landing on military ships. And while luminescence has now become a proprietary point of differentiation among elite watchmakers—Grand Seiko has Lumibrite, Rolex offers Chromalight, etc.—Panerai continues to innovate, making things brighter with its new Submersible Elux LAB-ID.
At first glance, the 49 mm by 21.9 mm watch looks like a standard model for the company. (The exception is its case, made of Ti-Ceramitech, a patent-pending material whereby ceramitized titanium is put through a Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation process to achieve its special matte-blue hue.) But a simple push of the clicker, located beneath the Elux-branded protector at eight o’clock, illuminates the hands, indexes, subdial, power reserve—even the triangular pip on the bezel. It’s the first mechanical watch where lume can be activated on demand, rather than by absorbing and re-emitting light, which is how Super-LumiNova, the industry standard, works. It sounds simple, yet the invention was eight years in the making in Panerai’s Laboratorio di Idee, the company’s research and development workshop, and required four patents.
More from Robb Report
Steve McQueen's Heuer Monaco Chronograph From 'Le Mans' Is up for Sale
Tiffany & Co. and L'Epee Team Up to Create a Whimsical Airplane-Shaped Desk Clock
The Ref. PAM01800, which is water resistant up to 1,640 feet, achieves its glow thanks to four minuscule barrels that draw on the movement’s kinetic energy and then, at the push of the button, unwind in a microgenerator, thus converting that energy into electricity that can power the LEDs for up to 30 minutes. (Another two barrels are used to power the movement, which has a three-day power reserve.) Should time run out on the activated lume, the watch also sports Super-LumiNova on the indices, hour markers, minute hand, and bezel dot.
Limited to just 150 pieces at $96,300 each, with only 50 pieces released each year through 2026, getting your hands on one is likely a shot in the dark. But for those elite Panerai obsessives who have cultivated deep collections and the connections to match, the future looks bright indeed.
Best of Robb Report
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
