At SIHH 2019 Panerai will officially debut the Submersible Chronograph dedicated to Guillaume Néry, the two-time world champion in freediving – diving without any breathing apparatus – having gone as deep as 126m on a single breath.

With a depth rating of 300m, the Submersible Chrono Guillaume Néry Edition PAM 982 goes a bit deeper, while continuing Panerai’s emphasis on civilian aquatic endeavours rather than its naval history. On the front there’s no obvious reference to Mr Nery’s feats underwater, though the blue and grey colour combination of the watch is uncommon for Panerai.

The watch has a classic 47mm Luminor case in titanium, with the two chronograph pushers located opposite the signature crown locking device. The unidirectional bezel is also titanium, and fitted with an insert of blue ceramic insert that’s scratch-resistant.

It’s matched with a matte, grained dial in grey with large white indices in typical Submersible style, with batons at the quarters and circular markers in between.

Despite being a complicated dive watch, the Submersible Chrono is legible, thanks to its smart chronograph layout. The running seconds are at nine, while the 12-hour totaliser sits at three. But instead of a sub-dial for elapsed minutes, the minute counter is centrally mounted and indicated by a blue hand, as are all the other chronograph hands.

The movement inside the in-house, self-winding cal. P.9100, a movement with a flyback function that allows for instantaneous reset and restart of the chronograph function. Like all of Panerai’s own chronograph movements, it has a column wheel and vertical clutch. The P.9100 also has double barrels and a longish 72-hour power reserve.

The P.9100 is hidden under a solid, screw-down case back, which is engraved with a stylised rendering of Mr Néry in action, along with his signature and “-126m”, a reference to his final, record-setting dive.

Price and Availability

The Panerai Submersible Chrono Guillaume Néry Edition PAM00982 is priced at €18,900.