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Panerai Incorporates Electric Illumination Into a Fully Mechanical Dive Watch








The Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID PAM01800 watch has no battery, however the dial lights up at the press of a button. It’s therefore crazy, we put it towards the test.



Go on and use the word “innovative” to explain the new Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID watch. We will not roll our eyes. Using traditional watchmaking techniques to energy an on-demand electric light within the dial is truly creative horological craft-and, take our term for it, the watch itself is actually wild and a lot of fun to try out with.



In lots of ways, it looks like a relatively traditional Panerai dive watch at first glance. You may notice a few unusual components, but the most eye-catching function is a covered button in 8 o’clock on the side of the watch case. Flip open the include and press that switch. The dial will “open, ” and the hands, directories, and other elements will produce a brightness and high quality similar to the first few seconds of the freshly charged Super-LumiNova. However here, it glows continuously and continuously for up to half an hour, or until you press the actual button again to turn this off.



So how exactly does it work?

It is as simple as flipping a light-weight switch, but knowing that it is powered by a spring rather than battery is bound to make anybody who loves tool watches and traditional timepieces just a little excited. But it’s not really that simple. There are many noteworthy functions here, but let’s obtain straight to the headline: the mixing of electric lights into conventional timepieces. The lights can be powered by four mainsprings, while two more strength the chronograph, just like your own standard mechanical watch. Each of them is wound together via the particular crown, and the movement’s wathe function has a separate reserve of power of three days.



Such a feature within a mechanical watch is uncommon and unexpected, but not totally unprecedented. HYT and De Bethune, for example , have also utilized mechanical watchmaking technology in order to power electric lights around the dial. Both brands are quite technical and avant-garde within their own right, but viewing this feature in a common tool watch format just like a Panerai dive watch is really a whole other level of awesome.



The differences do not stop there, however , as well as Panerai’s solution goes one step further. In addition to static factors like the hour markers, relocating parts like the hands and also power reserve indicator also illuminate, bringing a whole new degree of complexity. When you look at the fingers from an angle, you’ll observe that they’re very thick when compared with regular watch hands simply because they have to fit tiny elements inside. You’ll also realize that the lights for the palms shine outward from the foundation, while other elements shine from underneath (echoing typically the brand’s famous “sandwich dial” luminescence).



You will find 60 individual lights beneath the bezel that illuminate often the dots, and each one is glowing when you turn the viser and snap it in to place. With this feature, you may think, as I did, that all the actual lights under the bezel tend to be constantly lit. But that could use a lot of energy. Panerai’s patent-pending energy-saving solution makes sure that only the lights underneath the dots light up, so just 15 lights are lighted on the watch at any 1 time. We noticed that on the modele we tested, some of the bezel’s lights were brighter compared to others.



Illumination on demand consumes electrical power. But another impressive part of the Submersible Elux view is that it can stay lit up for a full 30 minutes on the full charge. By contrast, the particular HYT and De Bethune examples shut down after a couple of seconds. The linear power reserve indication on the dial specifically displays how much power is remaining in the lighting system (not the timekeeping), and the signal itself lights up. After running low on power, we can confirm that turning it up to full electric power is a bit tedious. Also, it may be worth noting that the standard luminous light is also applied when the lights are not upon, which provides another aesthetic contact.



No battery packs or active electronics are needed, all of this is achieved through a tiny generator integrated into traditional the making of watch. It contains custom coils, magnets and stators, and to produce the illumination, the one spins at 80 cycles per second to produce the signal at 240 Hertz. Crazy projects like this range from Panerai R& D division, where technical projects are usually conceived and developed, that the brand also calls Laboratorio di Idee, hence the name “LAB-ID” - a name that just appears on the brand’s the majority of technical and experimental items.



But the reason why?

The sheer greatness and “because we can” factor alone might be sufficient to justify the existence of typically the Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID. But there are a lot of those within watchmaking, so it’s especially admirable that every element of this particular watch seems rooted inside genuine practicality - set up practicality of making and putting on such a complex and costly watch is another question completely.



Legibility will be fundamental to watchmaking, and it is important for a dive enjoy, so having a bright, long lasting light is an obvious requirement. However , the Elux is as good as its name in other ways, as well. Yes, there is a real component of “heritage” to this watch. The name Elux itself is obtained from a technology patented through Panerai in 1966, created for instrument panels and plaques for the Italian Navy. Elux is short for elettroluminescenza, which means “electroluminescence” in Italian. The technologies for this watch took 8 years to develop, and is considered certainly not the same technology utilized in naval instruments.



What’s remarkable about the Elux is that it incorporates electroluminescence right into a mechanical watch movement, will not so in a very clever method. But would Panerai possess incorporated this technology directly into an ordinary steel case? Obviously not. The brand is known with regard to experimenting with alternative materials, and also the Elux uses one of the latest. In Watches & Wonders 2024, two Submersible models released the patent-pending Ti-Ceramitech materials, which is titanium that has been handled to achieve a specific texture along with deep blue-grey hue.



The titanium continues to be “ceramized, ” meaning often the metal surface is chemically converted to ceramic through a procedure called plasma electrolytic oxidation. It’s light and difficult like regular titanium, nevertheless the coolest thing about it is usually its smooth matte consistency. We can only describe this similar to stone, and it seems appropriately “special” for this kind of unusual watch. Even in wrists that usually prefer a smaller sized 9mm or so, we discovered its 49mm diameter to become very comfortable and wearable.



For specialized, avant-garde, esoteric watchmaking, you may not think of Panerai first. With regard to iconic, high-end tool watches? Sure. But the new Submersible Elux brings those things with each other, reminding us of the Italian language brand’s history-and its capability to produce some of the most creative in addition to advanced modern watchmaking currently available.



Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID

Model: PAM01800

Movement: Panerai P. 9010/EL automatic motion; 3-day power reserve (30 moments electric illumination)

Features: hours, minutes, small secs, electroluminescence, linear power reserve sign (illuminated), rotating bezel

Case: 49 mm; Ti-Ceramitech; 300 m water resistance

Dial: matte black

Strap: rubber