The Mare Nostrum Chronograph, one of the rarest models produced by Panerai, is introduced to watch aficionados with its new blue dial version limited to 1000 units only.
Mare Nostrum is a very important model for Panerai. Being the first chronograph timepiece of the brand, Mare Nostrum was designed for the deck officers of Marina Militare (Italian Navy). A unique piece (a prototype actually) was manufactured in 1943 but the model was never issued officially.
The discovery of the Mare Nostrum prototype in the past few years led the brand to issue a new version. Actually Panerai did issued a modern Mare Nostrum (Ref. 5218-301 / A) back in 1993 (the same year Panerai offered public sales for the first time) but it was designed referring to the limited information about the model found in the archives of the brand.
The new model is offered in stainless steel case measuring 42mm in diameter which is way more wearable than the 52mm version issued in 1993. The case is mostly satin brushed and equipped with a tachometric scale bezel. PAM716 is water resistant to 50 meters, which seems a bit weak for today’s standards but still admissible as the model was designed with faith to the historical model.
PAM 00716 features a blue dial with Bi-Compax chronograph lay-out. The hands and indices are filled with SuperLuminova phosphor material in beige color.
The new Mare Nostrum (PAM00716) is powered by the Caliber OPXXXIII which is a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module added version of ETA 2801-2. The movement is slightly modified with Panerai’s final touch and capable of offering 42 hours of power reserve when fully wound.
The new model comes on a blue alligator strap with contrast stitching.
Panerai added a small surprise for the owner of this 1000 units limited timepiece. In 1993, the same year that the model was designed by the brand, Luigi Durand De La Penne, the war ship of the Italian Navy, launched for the first time. In memory of this special occasion, a model of this war ship was placed inside the presentation box along an extra leather strap and a screwdriver.
