Panerai’s watchmaking history and longstanding relationship with the military stretches back to 1935, when the Royal Italian Navy approached watch manufacturers with a request to design a diving timepiece. 

Intended for the frogmen commandos of the First Submarine Group Command, the watch required resistance to extreme conditions and also excellent legibility under water. Panerai’s prototype, submitted in 1936, was a model known today as the Radiomir, the brand’s most emblematic timepiece, beginning the watchmaker’s long and storied military legacy and combat heritage.

For decades, Panerai has honoured this rich story with limited-edition timepieces, including, for 2024, a new capsule collection inspired by the American Navy Seals. The new set of watches takes design cues from desert camouflage and pays homage to the elite military unit with cohesive design elements such as a Navy Seals decal at six o’clock, a small seconds timer shaped like a target, as well as the special-operations force’s logo displayed on the caseback. The indexes are also coated with sand-coloured Super-LumiNova, further enhancing the desert aesthetic.

The capsule itself comprises four new watches that join Panerai’s existing Navy Seals collection, which it calls “watches for modern heroes”. Of the four, the new Submersible QuarantaQuattro Navy SEALs, a 44mm model in brushed stainless steel, is arguably the sleekest design. Equipped with water resistance of 300m and a P.900 movement with a three-day power reserve, the watch features a unidirectional rotating bezel, hours, minutes, small seconds, calculation of immersion time, as well as a stop-second function allowing for precise time setting.

Also housed in a 44mm case is the Submersible QuarantaQuattro GMT Navy SEALs Carbotech PAM01513 – this time crafted from Carbotech, a Panerai-made composite material based on carbon fibre, said to be 80 per cent lighter than steel. The timepiece also features a caseback made of Carbotech, as well as a unidirectional rotating Carbotech bezel, hours, minutes, small seconds, date, GMT, calculation of immersion time, stop-seconds for precise time setting, a three-day power reserve and water resistance of 500m.

Next, the Submersible Navy SEALs Titanio comes in a larger 47mm case constructed from brushed Grade 5 titanium – 40 per cent lighter and 60 per cent harder than steel. The bezel, meanwhile, is made from Carbotech. The automatic P.9010 calibre movement gives this timepiece a three-day power reserve. It also has a feature that allows the hour hand to be quickly changed, without affecting the others, allowing easy transitions between time zones.

The final model in the capsule, the Submersible Chrono Navy SEALs Titanio PAM01521, is the most limited of the collection, available in a run of just 80 pieces. Styled with a larger 47mm case, crafted in titanium with DLC coating, the PAM01521 is framed by a titanium bezel with a matt black ceramic disc. Beating within is the automatic P.9100/R calibre movement, kitted out with an impressive three-day power reserve, as well as a flyback chronograph function and countdown feature. A countdown is set using the push button at four o’clock, while the chronograph is actuated with a press of the start/stop button at 10 o’clock.

Each model is presented on a bi-material strap of rubber and camo-pattern textile, or black accordion rubber, and has been tested to the highest standards of guaranteed water resistance. For devoted Paneresti and those in the horological know, these are some mighty, rugged watches with serious grail appeal. 

Navy SEALs collection from £8,800 to £29,700; panerai.com