ReviewStealth Submersible: Presenting The Panerai Submersible S Brabus Verde Militare Edition

Italian design and Swiss watchmaking expertise already have a stunning union in Panerai. Add German engineering to this combination, et voila—we get a series of watches designed to merge the best of each world, and yet, each timepiece created from this alliance has a specific character of its own. With so much between the brands in common, in 2021, Panerai and Brabus, an icon by itself in the luxury automotive aftermarket, embarked on a partnership. This year, the collaboration released the Panerai Submersible S Brabus Verde Militare Edition, a skeletal watch in a stunning stealth green colour that matches Brabus’s Marine Shadow series of luxury powerboats.

Shared Passion For Marine Environment

Panerai are a brand that know a thing or two about watches and diving, what with their shop-cum-workshop turning into the first watchmaking school in Florence in the 1860s and 70s, and with them having supplied the Royal Italian Navy (and later a 60mm watch for the Egyptian Navy) with precision instruments and dive watches to accompany their secret underwater missions. Their 47mm Radiomir put Panerai down in dive-watch history, followed by their Luminor collection, that lunged deeper with a greater water resistance and the brand’s now-iconic crown protector.

In 2021, the collaboration between Panerai and Brabus led to the birth of the Panerai Submersible S Brabus Black Ops Edition inspired by Brabus’ Shadow Black Ops line of ultra-modern sport boats

The Panerai Submersible S Brabus Blue Shadow Edition, limited to 200 pieces, with blue markers and hands, and hints of blue in its skeletonised movemen

The Panerai Submersible S Brabus Black Ops Edition was released as a 100-piece limited-edition black timepiece with red accents

Panerai’s first automatic movement with an off-centre micro-rotor, which is inserted into the movement, leading to a considerably smaller diameter, reducing its thickness

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German luxury boat brand Brabus share the watch brand’s ‘passion for the sea’, and a union of the two almost seems inevitable. In 2021, the association led to the birth of a gorgeous open-worked dial in the Panerai Submersible S (for skeletonised) Brabus Black Ops Edition, inspired by Brabus’ Shadow Black Ops line of ultra-modern sport boats, a 100-piece limited-edition black timepiece with red accents. This was followed by the Panerai Submersible S Brabus Blue Shadow Edition, limited to 200 pieces, with blue markers and hands, and hints of blue in its skeletonised movement. Now, the 2023 Panerai Submersible S Brabus Verde Militare Edition ‘takes the next step in a collaboration that brings together horology and high-performance day boating’.

Verde Militare: Battle-Ready And Camouflaged

The timepiece is set in a sizeable 47mm case made from Carbotech, a corrosion-resistant composite material introduced by Panerai, and lighter than steel or titanium, with a Carbotech unidirectional rotating bezel that has a graduated scale—a necessary feature for divers to calculate time spent under water—along with a GMT function, and the iconic Panerai crown protection device with a safety lock. Understated wave-like patterns decorate the bezel, giving the timepiece a battle-ready look.

‘With the bridges and plates winnowed to their barest elements to expose the workings of the movement’, the skeletonised dial adds to the lightness of the otherwise robust-looking timepiece

Other subtle nuances—such as the stealth green on the flange ring, hands, hour markers, AM/PM indicator on the small seconds, and rubberised green crown—add to the camouflage effect of the timepiece. ‘With the bridges and plates winnowed to their barest elements to expose the workings of the movement’, the skeletonised dial adds to the lightness of the otherwise robust-looking timepiece. Even the date disc is unobstructed, thanks to the brand’s ‘polarised date display’, and the date can be seen only through the date window at three o’clock,

Stealth In The Verde Militare Movement

The watch is powered by the calibre P.4001/S, an automatic skeletonised movement based on the brand’s P.4000 calibre, Panerai’s first automatic movement with an off-centre micro-rotor, which, instead of being superimposed on the movement, is inserted into it, leading to a considerably smaller diameter, thus substantially reducing the thickness of the movement. The display caseback of the Panerai Submersible S Brabus Verde Militare Edition offers a view of the off-centre micro-rotor. Also on the screwed-down titanium caseback with a DLC coating and sapphire crystal glass is a handy display of the three-day power reserve. The timepiece offers a 300m water resistance.

The watch is powered by the calibre P.4001/S, an automatic skeletonised movement. On the screwed-down titanium caseback with a DLC coating and sapphire crystal glass is a handy display of the three-day power reserve

Subtle nuances—such as the stealth green on the flange ring, hands, hour markers, AM/PM indicator on the small seconds, and rubberised green crown—add to the camouflage effect of the timepiece

The Panerai Submersible S Brabus Verde Militare Edition is limited to 200 pieces, and features two straps, a black bi-material calf-leather version with a rubber base and green stitching, and a second in military green rubber. The trapezoidal titanium buckle of the strap has a DLC coating, and the timepiece comes with a screwdriver to easily remove of the buckle.