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The history of the Mare Nostrum — Panerai’s first chronograph — is murky. It’s believed the first prototypes came about in 1943 and were intended for deck officers in the Royal Italian Navy, but the watch never actually entered production. In 1993, when the brand first began selling its watches to civilians, Panerai made a re-edition based on some surviving drawings of the watch, and it’s believed only around 500 were made. And now, Panerai is bringing the watch back again for a limited production run.
The new Mare Nostrum is an incredibly accurate recreation of the 1993 watch, right down to the movement inside — a hand-wound ETA 2801-2 with an added Dubois-Dépraz chronograph module — a configuration rarely seen today. Oh, it’s also COSC-certified. It also features the same 42mm case, a broad brushed-steel bezel with a tachymeter scale and a deep blue dial. The watch is set to hit retailers in July at a price of $10,200, and Panerai only plans on making 1,000 pieces.
