TRUSTED COMPANIONS

PANERAI’S FASCINATION WITH THE STARS CONTINUES WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RADIOMIR 1940 EQUATION OF TIME 8 DAYS. WE THINK OF THE DAY IN 24-HOUR PERIODS, BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY AN AVERAGE DICTATED BY THE FACT THAT EARTH’S ORBIT AROUND THE SUN IS ELLIPTICAL, AND THAT ITS AXIS IS SLIGHTLY INCLINED, LEADING TO A SMALL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TIME INDICATED BY THE SOLAR MERIDIAN AND THE MEAN TIME DISPLAYED ON THE WATCH. THIS CAN BE ROUGHLY PLUS OR MINUS 15 MINUTES, DEPENDING ON THE DAY OF THE YEAR. THE RADIOMIR 1940 EQUATION OF TIME SHOWS THIS DIFFERENCE ON THE DIAL THROUGH A LINEAR SCALE. ON OCCASION, PANERAI REVISITS MODELS FROM THE PERIOD WHEN IT MADE WATCHES FOR THE ITALIAN MILITARY, CRAFTING MODERN VERSIONS WITH UPDATES TO THE MECHANICS MADE POSSIBLE BY TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY. SUCH A WATCH IS THE NEW MARE NOSTRUM TITANIO, A 52MM BEHEMOTH, WHICH FAITHFULLY REPRODUCES THE DESIGN OF A CHRONOGRAPH PRODUCED FOR THE ROYAL ITALIAN NAVY IN 1943, BASED ON PROTOTYPES TO WHICH THE BRAND STILL HAS ACCESS. THE LARGE SIZE IS MADE MORE WEARABLE BY THE USE OF TITANIUM, WHICH NOTICEABLY REDUCES ITS WEIGHT. THE MECHANICAL OP XXV MOVEMENT IS DEVELOPED ON A MINERVA BASE. IT’S IMPECCABLY HAND FINISHED BUT UNFORTUNATELY HIDDEN FROM VIEW AS THE CASEBACK REMAINS SOLID, AS PER THE ORIGINAL MARE NOSTRUM WATCH.