Panerai has welcomed underwater photographer Rafael Fernández Caballero as its new Friend of the Brand for Spain. With this appointment, Fernández Caballero joins the brand’s international community of explorers, athletes, and professionals, taking Panerai timepieces into the field and putting them to the test in real-world conditions where performance is proven through experience.
Recognised as one of the leading figures in contemporary underwater photography, Rafael Fernández Caballero has built a career dedicated to exploring and documenting the marine world. Trained as an engineer, he is also a professional diver and diving instructor. His work has earned prestigious accolades, including Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 and Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022. Today, he serves as a National Geographic ambassador and leads expeditions to some of the planet’s most remote locations, documenting unique stories from the world’s oceans.
Through this collaboration, Panerai places its Submersible collection exactly where it was designed to be: in the ocean. As an underwater photographer, professional diver, and expedition leader, Fernández Caballero regularly explores some of the most demanding marine environments on Earth, from the icy waters of Antarctica to remote ocean ecosystems, where pressure, strong currents, limited visibility, and extreme temperatures test both human endurance and the reliability of professional equipment.
During these expeditions, the Submersible becomes a genuine professional tool. Its unidirectional rotating bezel enables precise monitoring of dive times, while its water resistance, durability, and exceptional legibility prove essential in environments where there is no room for error. Whether during extended voyages, multiple dives, underwater photography sessions, or explorations in low-light conditions, the watch is tested on the wrist of someone whose work depends on equipment capable of meeting the same challenges he faces.
“Underwater photography requires you to operate in an environment where every detail matters. In Antarctica, everything is extreme—the cold, the visibility, the pressure, and the isolation. In those conditions, a watch stops being a simple accessory and becomes a trusted tool, another essential piece of equipment that stays with you dive after dive,” said Fernández Caballero.
Antarctica, one of the most remote and extreme regions on Earth, was the destination of Rafael Fernández Caballero’s first expedition accompanied by his Panerai Submersible PAM02683. Surrounded by icy waters, rugged landscapes, and constantly changing light, the watch became a natural part of his diving equipment, accompanying every descent as a tool designed to withstand the harshest conditions and support exploration in an environment where nature itself dictates the passage of time.
