Panerai’s New Marina Militare Submersibles Split GMT Utility and Destro Heritage

Panerai’s latest Submersible releases lean into one of the brand’s most important relationships without turning the watches into museum pieces.

The Submersible Marina Militare GMT PAM01758 and Submersible Marina Militare Destro PAM01757 both nod to Panerai’s Italian Navy history, but each does it with a different idea of utility.

One brings a second time zone into a 42 mm case, while the other revives the left-hand crown layout created with military divers in mind.

At a glance

• Panerai has added two Italian Navy-inspired models to the Submersible collection, the GMT PAM01758 and Destro PAM01757.
• Both use matte black dials, beige Super-LumiNova, ceramic bezel inserts and steel cases rated to 50 bar.
• The GMT is priced at €12,700 including VAT or US$13,100 excluding sales tax, while the Destro is €12,300 including VAT or US$12,700 excluding sales tax.

GMT timing with a military dial

The PAM01758 is the more travel-minded of the pair, built around a 42 mm brushed steel case and Panerai’s automatic P.900/GMT24H calibre.

Its layout keeps the Submersible’s instrument-like character intact, with central hours and minutes, small seconds at 9 o’clock and a date at 3 o’clock.

The additional time-zone display is handled by an orange-tipped hand that reads against a 24-hour scale on the rehaut.

That 24-hour format makes the second time zone easier to interpret at a glance, particularly when distinguishing day from night.

The movement measures 5.2 mm thick, uses a single barrel and bidirectional winding rotor, and delivers a three-day power reserve.

It is made from 189 components, has 23 jewels and runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour.

A stop-seconds function allows the movement to be halted while setting the watch, which is useful when precise synchronisation matters.

Destro ergonomics and naval logic

The PAM01757 takes a more historically specific route with a larger 44 mm brushed steel case and Panerai’s crown-protecting bridge placed on the left side at 9 o’clock.

This Destro arrangement was conceived for military divers who wore a watch on the right wrist, keeping the crown and bridge clear of the back of the hand.

It also helped leave the left hand free for instruments such as a compass or depth gauge.

Panerai keeps the dial correspondingly direct, dropping the date in favour of hours, minutes, small seconds and elapsed dive timing.

The small seconds register remains at 9 o’clock and gives the wearer a clear indication that the movement is running.

Inside is the automatic P.980 calibre, which shares the three-day power reserve and 28,800 vibrations-per-hour frequency of the GMT movement.

The P.980 measures 4.2 mm thick, is made from 163 components and uses 23 jewels.

Panerai also notes a traversing balance bridge intended to improve stability, while the movement is tested in six positions to assess chronometric performance.

Vintage cues, modern dive-watch construction

Both references use black matte dials with beige Super-LumiNova on the hands, hour markers and bezel indications.

The colour choice recalls the way older luminous compounds could age from white toward a warmer beige tone on vintage Panerai dials.

The unidirectional steel bezels are fitted with matte black ceramic discs, adding a scratch-resistant surface to the elapsed-time scale.

That one-way bezel operation remains a core safety detail for a dive watch, since an accidental knock can shorten the indicated dive time but not extend it.

The steel casebacks are screwed down and engraved with the Slow Speed Torpedo, the underwater vehicle known as the pig and used by Italian naval commandos during operations in the 1940s.

Panerai’s connection with the Italian Navy reaches back to the 1910s, when the Florentine company began supplying precision instruments for naval operations.

That work covered more than wristwatches, extending to luminous instruments, depth gauges, compasses and equipment connected to naval aviation.

The two arrows in the Officine Panerai logo refer to those activities above and below the surface.

Water resistance is rated to 50 bar, approximately 500 metres or 1,640 feet, and Panerai says each assembled watch is individually tested for water resistance.

The stated process includes a pressure test carried out at 25 percent above the declared rating, along with a thermal test intended to check for moisture inside the case.

Before assembly, components undergo quality checks, while representative batches are subjected to additional laboratory testing designed to simulate extended use.

Both watches are delivered on gold-brown Ponte Vecchio calf leather straps with tone-on-tone stitching and trapezoidal brushed-steel buckles.

A black accordion-style rubber strap is also included for a more water-appropriate setup.

The packaging is Panerai’s standard presentation made from recycled paper and accompanied by a travel pouch.

Details & Specifications

Between the GMT’s everyday practicality and the Destro’s more specialised ergonomics, these two Submersibles show Panerai working within familiar military codes while giving collectors a clear choice in how functional they want that history to feel on the wrist.