Just released last week at the SIHH 2017, the newest and most advanced Panerai ever is called the LAB-ID. This new special edition Panerai a.k.a the 50-50-50 because of its 50-piece limitation, 50-year warranty and €50,000 Euro price is a Panerai like no other. The new Panerai LAB-ID Luminor 1950 Carbotech PAM 700 features a 49 mm Carbotech case and represents a series of technological innovations that come to confirm Panerai's ability to excel in the field of watchmaking. With a deep black dial in a completely revolutionary material and a movement needing no lubrication for 50 years, the new Panerai LAB-ID PAM 700 has gone to where no other Panerai has gone before.
The Case
With its case made of Carbotech —a composite material based on carbon fiber released in 2015 by Panerai— and a deep back dial covered with carbon nanotubes, the Panerai LAB-ID PAM 700 is powered by an impressive manual wound movement that thanks to the mechanical properties of carbon composites in it, works perfectly without any lubrication. The Luminor 1950 case on the Panerai LAB-ID measures 49 mm in diameter and because its made out of Carbotech, every case is completely different and individual in terms of sheen and wood-like marbling appearance. Extremely hard and durable, Carbotech is not only used for the case but also for the winding crown protecting device. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters.
The Dial
Thanks to the use of carbon nanotubes, the dial on the Panerai LAB-ID has a deep black like no other watch with the exception of the MCT Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps Vantablack which uses the blackest manmade material. Following the traditional design cues of Panerai the dial on the new LAB-ID PAM 700 is a sandwich dial with a blue colored superluminova plate underneath it. The dial features Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 6 o'clock and subsidiary seconds at 9 o'clock.
The optical properties of the special coating utilized for the dial, have been specially developed to absorb light, reducing reflection to a minimum and giving the dial a particularly deep matte black appearance. Because it is not possible to print or stamp a dial with these characteristics, the Luminor Panerai and LAB-ID transfers have been printed directly on the crystal. The only thing we would've done differently regarding the dial, would've been choosing a different color combination as the blue is very reminiscent of some Bell & Ross and U-Boat watches that could never be compared to this feat of horology.
The Movement
The new Panerai LAB-ID Luminor 1950 Carbotech PAM 700 is powered by the brand new in-house Panerai calibre P.3001/C. This brand new manual wound movement with a power reserve of three days and equipped with only four jewels is a semi-skeletonized movement fitted with self-lubricating components that require only dry lubricating materials. Due to this, the movement is so revolutionary that the watch comes with a 50-year warranty —details on the warranty appear on the book that accompanies the watch. To remove the need for further lubricating the main bridges and the plate in the short term, these components are made of a completely new material: a low friction composite which integrates a Tantalum based ceramic. This new generation of composite is notable for its high percentage of carbon which minimizes pivot friction, making jewels and their related lubrication unnecessary.
Also eliminated is the need to lubricate the escapement, as a result of making the main components from silicon and applying a special coating of DLC —Diamond Like Carbon— to the wheel work. A good two years of testing by the Laboratorio di Idee in the Panerai Manufacture identified the best type of carbon-based coating with which to treat the components of the two spring barrels of the P.3001 calibre, so as to make conventional lubrication superfluous. The solution was to use a series of layers and sub-layers of coating, the surface one being coated with DLC. Last but not least, a surface coating of DLC on the four jewels means that there is no need to further lubricate the Incabloc anti-shock device. The movement is fitted with a power reserve indicator on the back and is fully visible via the display case back.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the new Panerai LAB-ID Luminor 1950 Carbotech PAM 700 wears slightly smaller than its actual size and more like a 47 mm watch due to its all black look and light case construction. The watch is delivered on a black calf strap with blue contrast stitching matching the blue on its dial. In all, a very advanced watch from a movement architecture standpoint and a sexy stealth looking timepiece like no other Panerai out there. The watch is available in a limited edition of 50 pieces.
Sticker Price €50,000 Euros —approximately $53,000 USD. For more info on Panerai click here.
