When you look at Cheap Panerai Replica that have been modeled on their historical predecessors, and, like them, have stationary bezels and leather straps, do you ever wonder if frogmen really wore the original versions on their dives? After all, a rotating bezel and metal bracelet or rubber strap are now considered mandatory for dive watches.
Of course, there’s ample proof that military frogmen really did wear these early Panerais. But what were their missions like and how did it feel to be part of them? We searched for clues with an experienced frogman who is a member of the Historical Diving Society, an international organization dedicated to preserving and protecting diving heritage. He donned an old-fashioned diving suit and brought along vintage equipment. He also brought along the Panerai Replica Watches, which looks very much like a Panerai watch from the 1950s, so we could revive a bygone era and experience how the frogmen of yesteryear might have felt.
The diver who accompanied us on our dive, Jens Höner, is a trained frogman and mine clearance diver who has set depth records both with and without equipment, including a scuba dive to a depth of 240 meters. He has explored underwater caves and submerged shipwrecks. We collaborated with him and with the Historical Diving Society to restage an unusual scenario: to go on a dive equipped just like the military divers of the 1950s and ’60s. And before he took the plunge, he strapped on our test watch, a Panerai Replica that matches its historical predecessor in nearly every detail.
Then as now, it’s important for a military diver to use a “rebreather,” which is a closed circulation diving device. It makes a long dive possible, while assuring that no telltale bubbles rise to the surface and give away the diver’s location. Unlike recreational divers, a military frogman doesn’t take a large tank full of pressurized air with him; he carries instead a smaller tank full of oxygen that, despite its smaller volume, enables him to stay underwater for two to three hours. The air that he exhales is treated with soda lime inside the device to prevent carbon dioxide retention. But the Panerai Replica UK disadvantage of this system is that as the depth increases, breathing molecular oxygen at increased partial pressures can quickly lead to oxygen poisoning. This is why divers who use these devices can safely descend to only about six meters, a depth that’s relatively shallow yet great enough for most military missions. These divers typically swim for long stretches, remaining under water and thus out of sight, and only after they’ve swum well past enemy lines do they come ashore to conduct reconnaissance or blow up a bridge.
The sandwich-style dial is also the reason for the distinctive open shape of the Cheap Panerai Replica numeral “6”: its inner part must be connected to its outer part. To make a virtue of this necessity, and to create a handsome dial despite functional restrictions, is a feat that could probably have been achieved only by Italian designers.
Manufacturer: Officine Panerai, Route de Pierre-à-Bot 87, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Reference number: PAM00422
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, power-reserve display on caseback
Movement: Hand-wound manufacture Caliber P.3001, 21,600 vph, stop-seconds function with automatic reset, 21 jewels, Incabloc shock absorption, Glucydur balance, 72-hour power reserve, diameter = 37.2 mm, height = 6.3 mm
Case: Stainless-steel case with domed, nonreflective sapphire crystal, fully threaded caseback with sapphire window, hinged lever to protect crown, water resistant to 100 m
Strap and clasp: Calfskin strap with pin buckle made of stainless steel
