In 1943, the Panerai family created the “Mare Nostrum” chronograph for the deck officers of the Royal Italian Navy “Mare Nostrum”. This name had already been used by Guido Panerai in 1924 for what was probably the first Panerai chronograph, but all traces of this first model have been lost. However a few prototypes of the 1943 chronograph still exist, and these have enabled the new watch to be reconstructed with great technical accuracy and similar aesthetic characteristics.
The new Mare Nostrum Titanio is a Special Edition of only 150 units. It faithfully reproduces the 1943 model, updating it to the highest standards of today’s high quality watchmaking but with some fundamental differences. The 52mm tonneau-shaped case of the new model is no longer made of steel but of brushed titanium. The wide flat bezel, the screw back and the winding crown engraved with the words “Mare Nostrum” are also made of brushed titanium, as well as the two classic push buttons of the chronograph functions. The readings are indicated by the central seconds hand and by a subsidiary minutes counter dial at three o’clock. The continuous seconds hand rotates in a subsidiary dial at nine o’clock.
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Protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment, the dial is made in two levels and, instead of the dark green of the vintage model, it is a sophisticated tobacco brown, which coordinates with the brown leather strap and its ecru stitching.
The timepiece houses a hand-wound manufacture movement, the OP XXV calibre - developed on a Minerva 13-22 base featuring a balance wheel making 18,000 vibrations per hour, like the Angelus movement of 1943. This hand-finished calibre has a column wheel and a swan neck regulator. The bridges are made of Maillechort, a nickel silver alloy that is particularly hard to work, bearing a Côtes de Genève finish.
