The Blackseal is a new watch by Panerai, in their Radiomir line.  It draws upon the design heritage of some famous Panerais of the past, while remaining sleek and modern in its own right.  The genuine Blackseal retails for around $4,000, and was for a period in short supply.

Recently there has been a large number of high-quality Panerai fakes on the market.  These watches typically cover the Historic models, meaning those watches based on the base model PAM-001 and it's chronometer counterpart the PAM-111.  These watches are all based on the OP XI movement, which has been used for years in Panerai models.  The OP XI, and the OP II which it replaced in 2002, are based on the ETA 6497.

The ETA 6497 is also called the Unitas 6497 after the original firm that manufactured it beginning in the 1950s.  It's a solid movement, very easy to service (mainly because of its size) and very reliable.  Panerai took this base movement and made some modifications, including changing the bridge and adding even higher quality parts.

Typically Panerai fakes have a number of common flaws that are easy to pick out.  Many of the new Panerai counterfeits have benefited from experience, high-end CNC manufacturing and computer drafting to make some of the most convincing fakes readily available on the market.  At the top of this pile is the Panerai Blackseal.

As far as basic flaws from the counterfeit makers, the crown guard on most Panerais has been difficult to copy.  They fail to make it as well-machined as the original, resulting in poor fits and roughly moving parts.

The crown is typically too thin, resulting in something that's easy to spot from a distance.

On the PAM-183, or Blackseal, the counterfeiters found a model devoid of these features, and therefore easier to copy.  The case design on the PAM-183 is clean and simple. Unlike the rest of the historic line, the Radiomirs have a screw-down crown with no crown guard.  Also, it utilizes a pillow-shaped case instead of the standard Historic-modeled case of models such as the PAM-111.

There seems to be only one core maker of counterfeit Blackseals, as there seems to be only one variation.  This watch is VERY accurate from the front, in comparison to the genuine model.  In the watch profile that came along with this video you'll see comparison photographs of a genuine Blackseal next to a counterfeit example.  From the front they are nearly identical, differing really only in the band color.  The counterfeit Blackseal also seems to have a slightly longer crown stem, resulting in the crown being a fraction of an inch farther from the case.

The dial on the Blackseal is actually a sandwich design.  It has a black dial with the hour markers and numbers cut out to reveal a second, luminescent layer beneath.  This counterfeit exhibits the same dial design, but has slightly less bright illumination when viewed in the dark.  This is common to replica watches in general; they tend to have a weaker glow to their luminous elements than their genuine counterparts.