Asimut
1543
Mare Nostrum revisited.
Like every year before the SIHH in Geneva we ask ourselves, is this the year of the Mare? Surly, if Panerai do eventually announce the remake of the Mare Nostrum, more attention will be drawn to this model. This is one of those watches that pictures do them little justice. One just has to strap it to the wrist to appreciate its beauty and the chronograph movement is one of the more reliable I have ever witnessed.
The historic roots are of course, with the Prototype made in the early 1940's. This watch was intended to be used by deck officers but because of the way things turned around in WWII (1943), the project never materialized. Mare Nostrum (in Latin , "our sea") was the Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea . The prototype was 52mm in diameter and housed the Angelus 215 chronograph movement. This prototype was obtained by Panerai at Christie's auction in November 2005 for the sum of 132,000 SFr.
Picture of the prototype Mare Nostrum, now property of the Panerai museum:
It is also worthwhile to mention that other timer devices made by Panerai were also branded 'Mare Nostrum', especially delay and timing devices for torpedoes and explosives.
The first production Mare Nostrum that Panerai came up with was the 5218-301/A in 1993. It was a 42mm steel case housing a ETA 2801-2 movement with a Dubois-Depraz 3127 chrono module. This movement was the same used in all Mare Nostrums eventually made, including the ones in the Vendome era.
990 pieces were made but 100 were reworked as Slytechs and 398 were passed over to Vendome in 1997 to be reworked to PAM 6, 7 and 8 (these figures are from the book 'The Panerai of Florence by Dino Zei). This means that there are actually 492 pieces in existence.
The 5218-301/A bears a true resemblance to the original design but a 'modern' graduated bezel was added. Wearing the watch however, one feel the retrospective influence of the 1940's design. The dial is a beautiful slate blue, that has nothing to do with the original prototype dial color which was black. It so happens that the 5218-301/A was the first Panerai ever that did not house a black dial.
5218-301/A
In 1995, following the collaboration with Sylvester Stallone, Panerai came out with a line of watches branded "Slytech" (Stallone's nickname is 'Sly'), amongst them were two Mare Nostrum models. Both were intended to be made in 500 pieces each, but they never quite made it:
I) 5218-302
This model was identical to the 5218-301/A, except the dial was branded with 'Slytech' and the caseback had the Stallone signature, as with all the Slytech line of watches. 50 pieces were made of this watch, 32 were completed/sold and 18 were passed to Richemont after the takeover in 1997.
2) 5218-304
This model is the closest in resemblance to the original prototype. Watch is identical to the 5218-302 but the bezel is plain and not engraved. 50 pieces were made of this watch, 31 were completed/sold and 19 were passed to Richemont after the takeover in 1997.
Vendome Mare Nostrum.
After Cartier's/Vendome's (now Richemont) takeover of Panerai in 1997, 435 Mare Nostrum watches (total of 398+18+19) were handed over. I guess that Vendome officials were not pleased with the design of the watch and decided to give it a more updated look: completely new dials (in blue, black and white), new angled bezel (engraving replaced 'km/h' with 'tachymeter') and new caseback. Regarding the numbers, it appears some were remade in 1997 (pre-A) and some in 1998 (A) although the dial bears the desirable T-hyphen as most pre-A's.
Actual number of Vendome Mare Nostrums reworked were 382 (and not 400 as the common belief) with the following split:
PAM 6 (blue dial) – 50 pre-A, 70 in A, total 120.
PAM 7 (white dial) - 50 pre-A, 40 in A, total 90.
PAM 8 (black dial) – 100 pre-A, 72 in A, total 172
The PAM 8 is IMO one of the best looking PAMs ever to be produced. however generic a two-subdial chronograph may seem, Panerai succeeded in giving a modern interpretation of the 40's model, The dial is crisp and clear watch is a marvel on the wrist.
Boxes and accessories.
The 5218-301/A came with box and papers typical of 1993 pre-V – outer blue shoe box, dark mahogany wood box and the screwdriver. Watch was fitted with a dark blue shark or croc strap.
The Slytech version came with large box, model ship/miale, book and spare strap, all typical of the Slytech pre-V watches.. It is important to point out that some of the Slytech mares delivered came in the regular small box and some of the models sold later by Vendome came with burlwood type of finish similar (but not identical) to the box that came with the Vendome Mares. Some of these were sitting in the ADs and even the boutique and sold as late as 2002!
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The Vendome Mares were delivered in a burlwood type box with the booklet in the current modern proportions that did not fit in the box and therefore was placed outside. Straps were crocs with the following colors:
Black for the PAM 8 black dial.
Blue for the PAM 6 blue dial.
Tan for the PAM 7 white dial.
Buckles were sewn-in inscribed Panerai without the logo, in pre-A fashion.
This concludes a small tutorial of the Mare Nostrum, perhaps the longest 'sleeper' in the old range. Thank you for reading.
added to Editor's Pick
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2008-01-29 07:12:01
Mare Nostrum revisited.
You guys are lucky cause.......
