Go ahead and use the term “innovative” about the new Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID watch. We won’t roll our eyes. Using traditional watchmaking to power on-demand electric lights on the dial, this is some genuinely creative horology — and, take our word for it, the watch itself is wild and incredibly fun to play with.

In many ways, it looks like a relatively traditional Panerai dive watch at first glance. You might notice some unusual elements, but the feature that stands out most is a covered button at 8 o’clock on the case side. Flip up the cover and push that button. The dial will “turn on,” its hands, indices and other elements glowing with a brightness and quality akin to the first few seconds of freshly charged Super-LumiNova. But here, it glows on steadily and consistently for up to 30 minutes or until you press the button again to turn it off.

How does it work?

It’s as simple as flipping a light switch, but when you know that it’s powered by springs instead of batteries, this is bound to make any fan of tool watches and traditional horology a bit giddy. And it’s not so simple. There are a number of noteworthy features here, but let’s get right into the headline act: electric lighting integrated into traditional clockwork. The lights themselves are powered by four mainsprings while another two power the timekeeping just like your standard mechanical watch. All are wound together via the crown, and the movement’s time keeping has a separate power reserve of three days.

This type of feature in a mechanical watch is rare and unexpected, but not completely unprecedented. HYT and De Bethune, for example, have similarly used mechanical watchmaking to power electric lights that shine on the dial. Both are highly technical and avant-garde brands to begin with, but to see this kind of feature in the familiar tool-watch form of Panerai’s dive watch is another kind of coolness entirely.

The differences don’t end there, however, as Panerai’s solution goes a step further. In addition to static elements like the indices, even moving parts like the hands and power reserve indicator light up, introducing a whole other level of complexity. When you see the hands from an angle, you’ll notice that they’re extremely thick compared to typical watch hands because they had to fit tiny components inside. You’ll also note that the hands’ lights shine outward from their base whereas other elements are lit from underneath (echoing the brand’s famous “sandwich dial” lume).

Beneath the bezel are 60 individual lights to illuminate the pip, and each light comes on as the bezel clicks into place while you turn it. Playing with this feature, you might think that all the lights under the bezel are on continuously, as I did at first. But that would use a lot of energy. In a patent-pending solution to conserve power, Panerai made sure that only the light below the pip is on, resulting in just 15 lights activated on the watch at any given time. We noticed that some of the bezel’s lights were brighter than others on the prototype we tested.

On-demand electric lights are going to be power-hungry. But another impressive element of the Submersible Elux watch is that it stays illuminated continuously for a full 30 minutes on a full charge. Compare this to HYT and De Bethune’s examples which turn off after a few seconds. The linear power reserve indicator on the dial specifically displays the juice left in the illumination system (rather than the time keeping), and the indicator itself also lights up. After allowing the power to run down, we can confirm that winding it all the way back to full is somewhat tedious. Moreover, it’s worth noting that traditional lume is also used for when the lights aren’t engaged, providing yet another aesthetic.

With no batteries or active electronics, all of this is achieved via a microgenerator integrated into the traditional clockwork. It incorporates custom-made coils, magnets and a stator, and to generate the lighting, a rotor spins at 80 revolutions per second to produce a 240 Hz electrical signal. Crazy watchmaking like this comes out of Panerai’s Research and Development Department where technical projects are conceived and developed and which the brand also refers to as Laboratorio di Idee, hence “LAB-ID” — a name only found on the brand’s most experimental and envelope-pushing products.

But why?

Just being insanely cool and “because we can” is probably sufficient justification for the Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID’s existence. But there’s a lot of that in watchmaking, so it’s especially appreciated that every element of this watch seems rooted in genuine utility — even if the practicality of making and wearing something so complex and expensive is another issue altogether.

Legibility is fundamental to watchmaking and especially important in dive watches, so the utility of bright, long-lasting lighting available on demand is obvious. The Elux, however, is justified in other ways too. Yes, there’s a “heritage” element to the watch. The Elux name itself was taken from a technology Panerai patented in 1966 and designed for the Italian navy’s instrument panels and signage. Elux is an abbreviation of elettroluminescenza, Italian for “electroluminescence.” The current watch’s tech took eight years to develop and is, of course, different from that used in the naval instruments.

The Elux is remarkable firstly for integrating electroluminescence into a mechanical watch movement, and the clever ways in which it’s integrated. But would Panerai put this tech in a run-of-the-mill steel case? Of course not. The brand is known for its experimentation with alternative materials, and the Elux features one of the latest. Introduced in two Submersible collection models at Watches & Wonders 2024, the patent-pending material Ti-Ceramitech is titanium which has been treated to achieve a certain texture and deep blue-gray hue.

The titanium has been “ceramized,” meaning the surface of the metal has been chemically turned into ceramic via a process called Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation. It’s light and hard, like regular titanium, but the coolest thing about it is its smooth matte texture. We can only describe it as akin to stone, and it feels appropriately “special” for such an unusual watch. Even on a wrist that typically prefers around 9mm smaller we found its 49mm diameter to be highly comfortable and wearable.

For technical, avant-garde, esoteric watchmaking, you might not think of Panerai first. For iconic, elevated tool watches? Definitely. But the new Submersible Elux brings those things together and serves to remind us of the Italian brand’s history — as well as that it’s capable of some of the most creative and advanced modern watchmaking today.

Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID

Reference: PAM01800
Movement: Panerai P.9010/EL automatic; 3-day power reserve (30 minutes for electric illumination)
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, electroluminescence, linear power reserve indicator (for light), rotating bezel
Case: 49mm; Ti-Ceramitech; 300m water resistance
Dial: Matte black
Strap: Rubber
Price in USD: On request
Availability: 150 examples (50 per year for three years)

Learn more on Panerai’s website here