Submersible

The roots of the Submersible lie in the same diving instruments — depth gauges, compasses, torches — that Panerai supplied to the Italian Royal Navy from the early decades of the twentieth century, but as a watch collection in its own right the line was born only in 1998, when the first Luminor Submersible (reference PAM 24) added to the classic cushion case a graduated unidirectional rotating bezel, the instrument that allows elapsed dive time to be monitored: the first real functional addition designed for sporting use underwater, compared with the historical models that had remained practically unchanged.

For about twenty years the Submersible grew as a sub-family of the Luminor — from which it inherited its full name, "Luminor Submersible" — gaining titanium, ceramic and carbon-fiber composite (Carbotech) cases, up to reaching 47 mm in diameter in its most extreme executions, always keeping the locking-bridge crown and the rotating bezel as distinguishing elements compared with the catalogue's more formal lines.

In 2019 Panerai took a clean step: the Submersible was made a fully independent collection, with its own name (no longer prefixed by "Luminor") to underline its identity as a standalone diving watch. Since then the line has further expanded with materials such as Goldtech and BMG-Tech metallic glass, with a GMT version, and with a high-profile collaboration with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team, a competitor in the America's Cup, giving rise to dedicated editions with colors and functions inspired by offshore sailing.