New Panerai Submersible comes with a three-day Navy SEALs experience and an incredibly rare case material

Hot off the back of a Watches and Wonders 2026 – during which the brand took home a coveted T3 Award for its 31 Giorni model – Panerai is back with the latest addition to its Experience watch range. For the unaware, these limited edition pieces include an experience designed to honour the people who inspired the model.

So, you're not just buying a watch. You're buying into the lifestyle of the people who actually use it, and that's a big part of the charm here.

The new model is called the Panerai Submersible Navy SEALs Afniotech, and as you might expect, it's made to honour the brand's work with the US Naval department. As such, each of the people who snag one of the 35 pieces will be treated to a three-day experience inspired by that unit.

The watch itself is no slouch, either. The case is crafted from the brand's Afniotech, which is a material crafted from 95% hafnium. If that's not one you've heard of before – fear not. The material is incredibly rare, with annual global production measured in just tens of tons.

The material is incredibly corrosion resistant, making it a popular pick on control systems for nuclear reactors and submarines. It's also incredibly dense, weighing about 70% more than steel.

That's used on the case here, which sits 47mm across and houses an automatic P.9010/GMT calibre. That offers three days of power reserve and a small seconds indicator at the nine o'clock position, ensuring the dial remains neat.

The dial is surrounded by a bezel which is also crafted from sandblasted Afniotech, which is a unidirectional design as you'd expect of a dive watch. And this piece is definitely that, with a staggering 1,000m of water resistance on offer.

Available from July 2026, the model is limited to just 35 pieces and will set you back £65,500 (approx. €75,500 / US$88,500 / AU$123,500). That's no small change, but the question remains – can you put a price on a once-in-a-lifetime experience?