Watch Paparazzi

Rapper French Montana spotted wearing Panerai

French Montana made a deliberate statement placing the Panerai Submersible Carbotech PAM01616 front and centre on the cover art of his new album. In an environment where rappers routinely reach for diamond-set showpieces, the choice of a matte, sculptural sports watch signals something more considered — an eye for material quality over overt bling.

The PAM01616 is a 42mm iteration of the Submersible line, Panerai's purpose-built diving collection that traces its roots to the brand's historic supply of instruments to the Italian Navy's frogman units. The case material is Carbotech, a composite developed in-house by Panerai using layers of carbon fibre set in a PEEK polymer matrix and compression-moulded at high temperature. The result is a case that is lighter than titanium, more resistant to corrosion than steel, and — critically for collectors — unique in its surface grain pattern on every single watch produced. The rotating unidirectional diving bezel is also rendered in Carbotech, reinforcing the monolithic, all-dark aesthetic. Water resistance stands at 300 metres. The dial is dark and sandblasted, with large luminous Arabic numerals consistent with the historic Panerai cushion layout, and the movement inside is the calibre P.9010, an in-house automatic with a 3-day power reserve and a micro-rotor configuration that keeps the profile slim.

Among collectors, the PAM01616 occupies a well-regarded niche. The 42mm Carbotech references have historically attracted buyers who find the standard 44mm Panerai proportions excessive for daily wear, while the Carbotech material elevates the piece well above entry-level catalogue. It is not a watch that appreciates dramatically on secondary markets, but it holds value steadily and trades with consistent demand.

French Montana, born Karim Kharbouch in Morocco and now one of hip-hop's more internationally minded figures, has shown an eclectic taste in watches across public appearances. Choosing the Panerai Submersible Carbotech PAM01616 as album cover iconography suggests an intentional alignment with the watch's understated technical confidence.

At a UK list price of £15,600, the PAM01616 sits in the upper-mid tier of Panerai's current catalogue. Grey market pricing has remained close to retail, reflecting steady but not speculative demand — exactly the kind of watch a serious collector wears without anxiety.