Panerai Submersible Navy SEALs PAM01738: A Tool Watch Built for Depth

Collector Notes

• 44 mm stainless steel case; water-resistant to 50 BAR (~500 metres)
• P.980 automatic calibre with 3-day power reserve and stop-second function
• Unidirectional steel bezel with black matte ceramic disc
• Super-LumiNova® X2 hour markers 45% larger in surface area; dual-colour luminous language (green hours, blue minutes)
• Officially licensed by the United States Navy; case back engraved with the SEAL insignia
• Ships with black rubber and grey canvas straps; worldwide release from July 2026

The Story Behind It

Panerai’s relationship with military clients stretches back to the early 20th century, when the Florentine house began supplying precision instruments to the Royal Italian Navy. The Navy SEALs Collection, first launched in September 2022, extended that logic to a new alliance: an officially licensed partnership with the United States Navy, whose SEAL Trident insignia is engraved directly on the case back of the PAM01738.

The PAM01738 sits alongside the Submersible Navy SEALs Afniotech™ Experience Edition PAM01089, first shown at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2026, as the two newest additions to that lineage. Where the Afniotech™ edition pushes material boundaries, the PAM01738 is built around refined readability and long-term dependability in a format accessible to a broader collector base.

Design & Mechanics

The P.980 calibre at the heart of this watch is a considered choice. At 28,800 alternations per hour with a traversing balance bridge, it prioritises positional stability — a legitimate concern for a watch worn in physically demanding conditions. The stop-second function, which halts the seconds hand when the crown is pulled, descends directly from military field practice: synchronising watches to the second before an operation.

The bezel construction is worth noting. Steel provides the structural frame; the matte ceramic disc handles wear resistance. The combination is not merely aesthetic — ceramic’s hardness means the graduations remain legible after the kind of knocks that would score a softer material. The crown is rubberised, preserving grip when wet.

On the Wrist

At 44 mm in stainless steel, the PAM01738 reads large without crossing into the oversized territory that renders a watch unwearable outside specific contexts. The anthracite dial, shaded rather than flat, gives depth to what could otherwise be a monochrome face. Yellow accents and a target-inspired small-seconds counter at 9 o’clock are direct Navy SEALs references rather than decorative flourishes.

The dual-colour luminous language warrants attention from collectors who actually intend to use this watch in water. Green for the hour markers; blue for the minute hand and the 12 o’clock bezel dot. The distinction is immediate in low visibility, removing ambiguity at precisely the moment it matters. The expanded Super-LumiNova® X2 surface area — up 45% on the indexes — sustains that brightness longer than standard-grade treatments.

Heritage & Lineage

Panerai‘s testing protocols merit a mention in any serious collector conversation. Every finished watch undergoes individual water-resistance testing at 125% of its stated specification before shipping. The brand also runs batch testing that condenses a decade of wear — including 19,000 bezel rotations, 10,000 crown-lever activations, and magnetic resistance validation to approximately 1,000 Gauss — into a concentrated laboratory programme.

For collectors in the Gulf who hold the Radiomir Bronzo PAM00760 or other Panerai references, the PAM01738 reinforces a consistent brand position: tool watches that carry genuine operational pedigree rather than borrowed military aesthetics. Available worldwide from July 2026, it arrives with two straps (black rubber and grey canvas) and Panerai’s standard box crafted from recycled paper.

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