You will find Panerai’s replica watches share a reassuring familiarity- large cases and crown guards and a dial design that puts legibility front and middle. A better look at the catalogue will show that the brand born from its Italian diving heritage has quite a lot of diversity on offer, especially when it comes to case materials. The replica Panerai has strong form when it comes to material innovation. And today we’re having a general look at one of the most interesting examples from recent times: Carbotech. 
Let’s step back for a second and look at the bigger picture before we talk about the case material. PAM00616 is a 47mm Luminor Submersible, one of the brand’s beefiest cases, good for 300m of depth, and a standout thanks to the solid dive bezel and that patented crown guard. The replica watches are impressive on the inside, too, with a big P.9000 calibre ticking away, a double-barrelled beauty that’s nice for three days of power. It’s an amazing replica watch that you might reasonably desire to weigh the wrist down. But it doesn’t.
That’s where the Carbotech comes in. Apart from its obvious visual charms, Carbotech is lightweight, very strong and very durable. Importantly it also looks awesome, like blacked-out tiger stripes. At this point you might be wondering just what Carbotech is, and that is an eminently reasonable question. Carbotech is a composite material made from thin layers of carbon fibre, laminated under pressure with PEEK polymer that binds the layers together. The result of this layering process is that every example is special.
While the functional benefits of Carbotech make it a good opportunity for a serious dive fake watch like the Submersible, it’s the strong look that draws the eye. The striation of the case is particularly visible in profile and on the bezel, in the form of soft whorls and swirls. Besides, Panerai has perfectly accented this material with warm, vintage creamy tones on the bezel and dial – and while you might think this old world reference would be out of place with the 21st century material, the juxtaposition works so wonderful. The final note that makes the Carbotech is the blue ‘Carbotech’ text, echoed on the small seconds and the OP logo on the rubber band.
The Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech is a great example of the replica Panerai’s two key pillars: innovation and tradition thanks to its cutting-edge case and typical design,