Along with the new revolutionary Panerai LAB-ID Luminor 1950 Carbotech PAM 700 —we brought you here— released by Panerai at the SIHH 2017, the Panerai Laboratorio di Idee presented a second watch also quite revolutionary, but in a different way. Equipped with an invisible but revolutionary innovation, the new Panerai Submersible 1950 BMG-Tech 3 Days Automatic PAM 692 sports a case, bezel, crown and protecting device in BMG-Tech —where BMG stands for Bulk Metallic Glass. This material similar to titanium but darker grey is also extremely resistant and quite light.
BMG-Tech is a material made from a special glass-like alloy in a way which prevents crystallization, so that the atoms do not arrange themselves in regular geometric structures. The alloy consisting of zirconium, copper, aluminum, titanium and nickel is subjected to a high-pressure injection process at a high temperature and then to a cooling process lasting for only a few seconds, so that the atoms do not have enough time to become arranged in an ordered, regular structure, as normally happens in crystals. The “chaotic” structure of the material is the secret of its properties —extreme corrosion resistance, great robustness, resistance to external shocks and its resistance to magnetic fields. Honestly, is very hard to tell that the case is not made of titanium as the look and finish are almost identical. The case measures 47 mm in diameter and the watch is delivered with a black accordion rubber strap with pin buckle.
The Dial
An underwater instrument with water resistance to 300 meters, the new Panerai Submersible 1950 BMG-Tech 3 Days Automatic PAM 692 sports a deep blue dial very similar in hue to that on the Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days GMT Titanium PAM 719 Pole2Pole Expedition we reviewed here but with a high-gloss finish. Featuring applied white round markers and white transfers the dial features a date aperture at 3 o'clock, a blue seconds hand on a subdial at 9 o'clock and the 'BMG-TECH' writing in light blue. Equipped with a uni-directional rotating bezel with a graduated scale for calculating immersion times, the new BMG-Tech PAM 692 truly looks like a bad-ass diving watch.
The Movement
The new Panerai Submersible 1950 BMG-Tech 3 Days Automatic PAM 692 is equipped with a screw-down titanium display case back and powered by the new Panerai in-house calibre P.9010 that is now powering the Submersible line. This double-barrel movement composed of 200 parts and 31 jewels, provides a power reserve of 72 hours when fully wound, while beating at a frequency of 28,800 vph. This new movement just like all other new movements from the brand, allow for the hour to be easily adjusted without interfering with the movement of the minute hand, by means of the device which moves the hour hand on its own, in jumps of one hour forward or backward. This function is very useful when changing time zones or moving between summer time and winter time, particularly since adjusting the time automatically changes the date when necessary.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the new Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 BMG-Tech 3 Days Automatic PAM 692 wears true to its size and just like all other Panerai Submersibles. A great looking watch for those that love blue dials but made with a revolutionary material that is just too hard to spot, unlike tantalum for instance. The watch is available in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces.
Sticker Price $10,200 USD. For more info on Officine Panerai click here.
