How do you choose the right Submersible?

The Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic professional dive watches combine elegant styling on land with performance underwater.

Summer is here, and the call of the mysterious and refreshing waters of the deep has persuaded you that a Panerai diving watch might be just what you need. Whether a qualified diver or just a fan of dive watches’ sporty aesthetic, the Submersible collection with its new watches unveiled at the SIHH 2017 has rightly captured your attention. Now, your only problem is deciding which of the many models in the collection you will make your own. Unless you simply fall in love at first sight, it’s not immediately obvious why you would choose one over another. But the differences are there if you know where to look.

Quelle Submersible choisir?

Selection criteria

Let’s start by having a look at the similarities: all the watches in the Submersible collection come in a Luminor 1950 case, with a milled unidirectional rotating bezel, with dots every 5 minutes and numbered quarter-hours, along with the Luminor’s distinctive crown guard. Except for the chronographs and the older Carbotech™ version, all the watches are automatic with hours, minutes, the familiar seconds subdial at 9 o’clock and a date at 3, driven by the new Calibre P.9010. They have a 3-day power reserve, a balance wheel stop mechanism and a system for adjusting the hour hand in one-hour increments forwards or backwards. The differences between the Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic models are mainly to be found in their size – 42 mm or 47 mm – dial colour (although the choice is limited to black or blue), and case materials.

Carbotech, BMG-Tech and the rest

Panerai is known for its innovative use of materials, and the Submersible collection is no exception. There is a version in light grey BMG-Tech™ (a super-strong metallic glass) with a blue dial, and another in Carbotech™ (a carbon fibre composite material that has an attractively technical-looking irregular grain), which have proved their appeal to lovers of oversized (47 mm) and discreetly high-tech timepieces. In the same size, the new Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo will delight naval history buffs, with its bronze case and bezel (a traditional alloy of copper and tin) paired for the first time with a blue dial. For more terrestrial usage, this 1,000-piece limited edition comes with a brown leather strap with white topstitching.


Quelle Submersible choisir?

Red gold also features in the Luminor Submersible 1950 collection, in the shape of an elegant 42 mm piece, water resistant to 100 metres (unlike the other models in the collection, which can go to 300 m) with a bezel inlaid with opaque black ceramic. Among the three 47 mm titanium versions unveiled this year, one stands out for its anti-magnetic properties. Its inner case in soft iron, integrated with the satin-brushed titanium case, insulates the movement and guarantees resistance to magnetic fields of up to 40,000 A/m, which is eight times that required by international standards. Finally, the stainless steel model is sporty but restrained in its 42 mm case. With a price tag of just 8,300 Swiss francs, it’s the most affordable watch in the range.

Quelle Submersible choisir?

Chronograph

The Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic also comes in a Chrono Flyback version, with a 47 mm satin-brushed titanium case. Like the Carbotech™ version, the black dial has Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 o’clock. The other models have a double baton marker at 12 o’clock and a single marker at 6. The chronograph minutes and seconds hands are in the centre, and the timepiece is driven by the automatic Calibre P.9100.

Prices in Swiss francs for the various Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic models:
Steel 42 mm: CHF 8,300; Titanium 47 mm: CHF 8,600; Titanium Amagnetic: CHF 10,300; Bronze: CHF 13,500; Carbotech: CHF 16,000; Chrono Flyback: CHF 16,000; Red gold: CHF 25,000.

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