The world watched last month as history unfolded in Egypt, culminating with a mostly peaceful revolution and the military stepping in to assume temporary control. How fitting then, that Panerai recently re-issued one of its most famous historical pieces and one with a tie to the Egyptian military. The “Egiziano,” or “Egyptian” Radiomir, a massive 60mm dive watch was commissioned back in the mid-1950s by the Egyptian Navy. That watch was powered by a hand-wound Angelus movement that boasted an impressive eight-day power reserve. The case bore Panerai’s now-famous bridge crown protector and the elapsed time bezel rotated in five-minute increments. The dial is the classic Panerai radium lumed sandwich dial.
The re-issue, called the Panerai PAM 341 ($29,995), was built to almost the exact dimensions as the original and comes packaged with extra straps and a spare acrylic crystal inside a massive pearwood box, whose size is befitting such a monster timepiece. There’s no telling why the Egyptian Navy thought they needed such a huge watch but it takes a bold man with a strong wrist to pull this one off. To witness: both Sly and the Governator have been seen sporting this one. If you’re planning to dive the clear Red Sea waters out of Sharm-el-Sheik, you can do it with confidence in the new PAM 341, which will set you back a hair under $30,000. Act fast, only 300 were built.
Update: An observant and knowledgeable reader corrected us: “The watch that the Egyptian Navy commissioned was actually Panerai model reference 6154 in 1954, also known as the “Small Egiziano.” In 1956 Panerai created the GPF 2/56 or the “Big Egiziano” but it was never commissioned by the Egyptian Navy.”
Buy Now: $29,995