Hands-On: The Panerai Submersible Bronzo Blu Abisso

When it launched in 2011, the Panerai Submersible Bronzo PAM 382 wasn't the world's first bronze watch. Other brands had done it before, including the erstwhile Gerald Genta line with its Gefica Safari. But from the moment it was released, the Bronzo, perhaps simply by dint of its name, became the most famous one. For Panerai, taking a material practically synonymous with classic maritime equipment and fashioning a watch from it seemed like a no-brainer, even if, in the august halls of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the notion of a watch deliberately made to tarnish seemed quizzical. Think about all the companies releasing watches in precious alloys devised with stability in mind. Panerai itself has Goldtech, a rose gold alloy made not to change over time. The Bronzo is on the other side of the spectrum. It's supposed to look gnarlier and gnarlier the longer you wear it. When you buy one, that's what you want. And yet, at retail, the consumer trying one on expects to and take home a pristine example, that all of the patina the watch accrues is his or hers alone. This must present certain challenges at the sales counter, one would think. Still, the Bronzo has tended to be a fairly limited model and I'd imagine many of them sold swiftly to end clients. I wonder how all those OG Bronzos look now... The first Bronzo, a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, became one of the most sought-after PAMs of the early 2010s. It was, as you'd expect of a Panerai Submersible, a Brobdignagian 47mm in diameter. Between the release of that original Bronzo and 2019, Panerai released four additional versions, including one unique piece, the PAM 907. What they all had in common was the characteristic 47mm size. As you have may have already read on HODINKEE, this new Bronzo is a bit smaller – 42mm to be exact, with an overall thickness of 14.37mm. While it's no small watch (we're still talking about Panerai here), 42mm is a world of wearability away from the Bronzo many of us have grown accustomed to. While I can see Paneristi bemoaning the downsize move, I can also see a lot of civilians who might have otherwise balked at a 47mm cushion now give the Bronzo a chance. And given the success of bronze watches in smaller sizes from a range of makers, including Oris, why shouldn't Panerai offer one too? Ten years after the original, the Submersible Bronzo is back in the form of the Bronzo Blu Abisso, limited to 1,000 pieces per year. It features a dial in a soft matte tone of blue that I would call royal blue. It's matched with a blue suede strap that works from a color coordination standpoint, but that you are probably not going to want to think about getting wet. (Instead, you're going to switch to the blue rubber strap that Panerai thoughtfully includes.) You might recall that the most recent Bronzo, from 2019 , featured a bezel with ceramic insert, in keeping with the general design direction the Submersible collection took that year. The adoption of ceramic put the Submersible on strong footing alongside other dive watches using ceramic inserts. Now for 2021, the original matching bronze bezel is back in all its glory, resulting in a monochromatic bronze appearance. The watch we have here is brand new, but if you live near the ocean or a place with a balm in the air, you can expect the patination process to transform the character into something else entirely. Bronze watches are supposed to patinate in ways that are unique to wearer's lifestyle and location, but generally speaking, the  result tends to be a darkening of the case and perhaps the accumulation of verdigris if you really let it go. Google "Bronzo with patina" or "bronze watch with patina," and the wide range of what can happen becomes apparent. You might think this external layer of corrosion was the sign of a material decomposing from the outside in, but the reality is a bit different. When bronze patinates, the crust on top is just that, a surface layer, and it actually protects what's beneath it from further corrosion. This is why bronze has such a long and famous history in maritime applications. Flip the Bronzo Blu Abisso over and you see that not all of the watch is actually bronze. You get a sapphire window onto the automatic P.900 movement and a titanium caseback. The P.900 is the renamed OPXXXIV, a smaller and thinner automatic movement used by Panerai in some of its smaller watches. It offers a full three days of power reserve while running at a conventional rate of 4Hz (28,800 vph). I've said it many times before, but when it comes to movements being designed these days, I want and expect three days of power reserve. A lot of us like to switch out our watches from time to time, and knowing that you can take a watch off on Friday after work and come back to it Monday morning without having to reset it feels like baseline user-friendliness. Despite the open back and the use of multiple materials in the case construction, this is a true tool watch and diver, every bit a proper Panerai Submersible. On the wrist, 42mm works for the Blu Abisso. Believe it or not, I don't think I'd want a Panerai Submersible – much less a Panerai Submersible Bronzo – to be any smaller. The dial's lively royal blue tone feels made for summer, and it also lends the watch a unisex quality. I like this watch a lot, and it has me wondering if the Bronzo is making a brief detour to this smaller size or if we can expect subsequent Submersible Bronzos to bring this smaller form factor as well. Time will tell. The Panerai Submersible Bronzo. 42mm x 14.37mm case in bronze, featuring Safety Lock crown protection device. Unidirectional rotating bronze bezel. 300 meters water resistance. Blue matte dial featuring Super-LumiNova and seconds at 9 o'clock, date at 3 o'clock. P.900 automatic movement measuring 12 12/2 lignes x 4.2mm thick, 171 components and running at 28,800 vph in 23 jewels. Sapphire front and back. Blue suede strap with ecru stitching and bronze pin buckle. Additional rubber strap in blue. Price: $15,900. For more, visit Panerai online . All photos by Atom Moore.A cult tool watch gets a little bit smaller.