Panerai’s $96,300 Submersible Elux LAB-ID: 160 Glowing Micro LED’s and No Battery
The world of luminous watches was changed forever when Luminova, the first-ever non-radioactive lume, was invented in 1993 by Nemoto in Japan. Although several brands of lume now exist, like Seiko’s Lumibrite or Rolex’s Chromalight, they’re all based on strontium-aluminate. That’s been the industry standard for over a quarter-century, and only minor advancements in paint formulation seem to have occurred since then. Panerai’s June 2024 release of the Submersible Elux LAB-ID, though, is a significant breakthrough in battery-less glowing watch technology. Sure, it costs almost a hundred grand, but its array of mechanically-powered micro LED’s are pretty sweet. Let’s go over the details of the Submersible Elux LAB-ID.
The Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID’s Lighting System
Although a glowing watch dial and hands (and bezel pip in this case) may not seem all that crazy–many of us had light-up Casio and Timex watches as kids–making it work without batteries is no small feat. The Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID isn’t the world’s first watch to feature battery-free electroluminescence–that honor seems to belong to 2015’s HYT H4 Metropolis, and Van Cleef & Arpels wasn’t far behind.
The PAM01800 isn’t even the first watch to have a mechanically-powered electroluminescent bezel-De Bethune did it in 2019 with their “Yellow Submarine.” But, it is the first watch with mechanically powered LED’s on the hands. Panerai’s head of R&D, Anthony Serpry, told Wired that “30 to 40 percent of the complexity of the entire project is just in the hands.”
The PAM01800 features an automatic movement with four dedicated barrels that power a microgenerator to illuminate the dial, hands, and bezel marker with LED’s for up to 30 minutes when activated by a prominent pusher at 8 o’clock. There’s even a power reserve indicator for the light in the middle of the dial. It takes a lot of power to light those lights, and it takes a lot of watch (49mm) to hold six barrels (including two for timekeeping). Note that typical SuperLuminova X2 lume is present as well.
Ti-Ceramitech Case
Aside from the lighting system, the most notable feature of the Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID is its Ti-Ceramitech case. Ti-Ceramitech was first unveiled on one of the Panerai 2024 releases from Watches & Wonders, and it’s essentially titanium with a layer of ceramic “grown” on top via plasma electrolytic oxidation. Ceramic is much lighter than steel, and much more scratch-resistant, but it’s far more likely to shatter. Ti-Ceramitech is supposedly ten times more fracture-resistant than typical ceramic, while being 44% lighter than stainless steel, so it seems like a good way to get the best of both worlds. Plus, the blue-grey hue they’ve managed to create is nice.
The case looks good, but Panerai has been raked over the coals for downgrading the finishing and functionality of their P.9010 movements in recent years, so let’s hope they’ve stepped up their game for the P.9010/EL ticking inside this $96,300 watch. We’ll break down all the specs for you now:
Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID Specs
| Model | Submersible Elux LAB-ID |
| Reference | PAM01800 |
| Case Material | Blue Ti-Ceramitech (ceramised titanium) |
| Case Diameter | 49mm |
| Movement | P.9010/EL |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, button-activated 160-LED light array, power reserve indicator for lights |
| Power Reserve | 72 hours for timekeeping, 30 minutes for lights |
| Water Resistance | 500m |
| Bracelet/Strap | Rubber strap with titanium tang buckle |
| Limited Edition | 150 pieces |
| MSRP (June 2024) | $96,300 |
Although Panerai did submit a patent for “Elux” technology in the 1960’s, they weren’t a watch company back then. They supplied military equipment, largely to the Italian Navy, and that patent was for displaying illuminated letters and numbers on a transparent surface, somewhat like a HUD. This Elux watch is totally unrelated, but hey, why let a perfectly good trademark go to waste? Now let’s see how it compares to other mechanically-illuminated watches.
Comparing Mechanically-Powered Electroluminescent Watches
| Watch | Number of LEDs | Number of Barrels | Generator | Year Debuted | Approx. Market Price (June 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panerai Submersible Elux Lab-ID PAM01800 | 160 | 6 | Dynamo | 2024 | $70,000 USD (Est.) |
| De Bethune DB28GS Yellow Submarine | 4 | 2 | Dynamo | 2019 | $115,000 USD |
| Van Cleef & Arpels Lumineux models | ~6 (Varies by model) | 1 | Piezoelectric | 2016 | $40.000-$85,000 |
| HYT H4 Metropolis | 2 | 2 | Dynamo | 2015 | $30,000 |
With a price tag of almost $100,000, the new Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID might make you wonder, “OK, what are we doing here?” Like, why spend so much engineering effort and expense just to accomplish something that could easily be accomplished with a battery for much cheaper? Why are batteries “uncool” but microgenerators are OK anyway? Well, that’s all very arbitrary, but appreciating engineering for engineering’s sake is part of what watch enthusiasm is all about. And I’m happy to see some advanced technological efforts in the watch space going to something other than making increasingly crazy tourbillons. While I do expect these Elux Submersibles to trade below MSRP, I don’t expect them to be total dogs. It will be interesting to see how history views these.
More on Panerai:
How Much Does a Panerai Luminor Cost in 2024?
The Best Panerai Watch
How to Sell a Panerai Watch
