Earlier this year the brand rolled out the Afniotech Experience Edition, which was a 47mm hafnium-cased monster limited to 35 pieces, and bundled with a three-day special ops trip in Florida and a price north of $65K. And the new PAM01738 is the version you can actually walk into a boutique and buy.
Steel Over Hafnium
Panerai’s whole personality is building watches that look like they could double as blunt instruments, and the Submersible Navy SEALs line leans all the way into that vibe.
The Navy SEALs collection launched back in 2022 as Panerai’s excuse to flex its military pedigree, and it has produced some wild stuff since. This one actually feels a bit more grounded overall.
It swaps the Afniotech’s exotic hafnium for plain stainless steel and trims the diameter from 47mm down to a far saner 44mm. Funny enough, that makes steel the lighter pick here, since hafnium is dense as anything. Inside sits the in-house P.980 automatic with a 3-day reserve and a hacking-seconds function, so a frogman can sync to the exact second before a mission.
Tested Into Oblivion
Of course it wouldn’t be a Panerai if things didn’t at least get a little extreme. Before a single PAM01738 reaches a display case, representative units get dragged through a gauntlet built to simulate years of hard use.
We’re talking 19,000 bezel rotations, 10,000 cycles of the crown-protecting lever, 3.6 million winding turns, and 8 million rotor rotations. Pile on 5,000g shock impacts, thermal swings, UV exposure, corrosion baths, and magnetism resistance to 1,000 gauss. Every finished watch also gets pressure-tested 25% past its rated depth before it ships. That’s wild for a piece most owners will never take below the deep end of a pool, but that’s one of things we love so much about Panerai.
Lume That Pulls Double Duty
The dial is a shaded anthracite gradient with a grainy finish, but the real upgrade here lives in the glow. The indices now run 20% wider with a reported 45% more Super-LumiNova X2 packed on.
The hour markers glow green while the minute hand and the dot at 12 on the bezel glow blue, letting a diver read elapsed immersion time and the actual clock at a glance.
Spec Sheet
Model: Panerai Submersible Navy SEALs
Reference: PAM01738
Case Size: 44mm
Case Material: Stainless steel; matte black ceramic bezel insert
Water Resistance: 500m (50 bar)
Movement: Panerai P.980 automatic, 4Hz
Power Reserve: 3 days (~72 hours)
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date
Dial: Shaded anthracite with Super-LumiNova X2
Strap: Black rubber + grey canvas (interchangeable)
Limited Edition: No (non-limited)
Price: $12,400
Pricing & Availability
The PAM01738 lands at $12,400 (roughly EUR 12,100 / £10,400) as a non-limited model, hitting Panerai boutiques worldwide in July 2026.
Recap
Panerai Submersible Navy SEALs PAM01738
Panerai’s steel Navy SEALs diver packs 500m of depth and a clever two-tone lume into a 44mm case built to be abused.
