In the early years of Panerai everyone knew that Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were huge Panerai enthusiasts. But not everyone will know that Mike Horn, the world renowned explorer has been a Panerai lover and brand ambassador for over 15 years. His first special edition piece was the PAM92 Arktos, celebrating his circumnavigation of the arctic circle by himself with no motorized aid in 2002. In 2006, Horn walked unassisted by machines or dogs over 1,000km to the North Pole in the complete darkness of the Artic winter. For that trip Panerai released the PAM252 North Pole GMT which even had a special alloy jacket to protect it’s automatic wound movement from the intensity of the magnetic fields. Most recently Officine panerai announced the new PAM719 Pole to Pole Edition for him to wear while he circumnavigates from one pole to the other.
Fast forward to SIHH 2019 and there are a couple of new Mike Horn Submersibles with a very distinct look being released and one of them, the PAM985 even comes with a once in a lifetime experience with one of the greatest living explorers in the world. We will get to that a bit later but let’s first talk about the new Panerai PAM00984 Mike Horn Edition Submersible.
Because of Mike Horn’s absolute love the earth and its exploration, Panerai has taken a very unique route in the creation of the PAM00984. Not only is the watch tough, strong, and reliable they have used methods involving recycling resources to protect the planet and it’s resources. The first place you will notice great care taken by Panerai is in the introduction of a new material for the 47mm case. This material is known as EcoTitaniun, first introduced into the world of high quality watch making by Officine Panerai. This material is not obtained from the exploitation of natural resources but in fact from recycled titanium. This EcoTitanium is used in the case, the crown guard, the bezel and also the case back.
The PAM00984 features a dark black dial with a generous display of green SuperLuminova on the indexes as well as the skeleton hands that are synonymous with the Submersible line. The sub second dial that is at the 9 0’clock position is a bit of a change from the typical layout opting for a more futuristic look. The lume outline subdial is very much like the sub dial that we saw on the PAM700 LAB-ID.
Another cool feature that has been taken from the LAB-ID is that the text that you see is actually etched into the sapphire crystal and not on the dial. It might be hard to see in the press pictures but you can definitely notice it in person.
On top of the EcoTitanium case is the unidirectional bezel to keep track of dive time since this watch is rated to 300M or 1000ft. The case back is finished with an engraving of Mike Horns signature as well as different inhabitants of the sea. Behind that EcoTitanium case back is the P.9010 automatic calibre with a 3 day power reserve which is created entirely in-house at the Manufacture in Neuchâtel. The manufacture itself operates with the strictest environmental standards with a state of the art facility that reuses materials to lower the carbon footprint they leave.
Continuing with the eco-friendly PAM00984 the black strap that comes with the watch is obtained from recycled PET. This material is light, strong, and resistant as well as minimizing the impact on the environment. PET is Polyethylene terephthalate and used to make synthetic materials such as this watch strap and is commonly recycled.
Even the special packaging that the watch is sold is made of recycled materials, with an innovative design inspired by that of the instruments specially made for underwater activities. Along with the PET strap you will find a secondary rubber strap for the watch.
In a way we can say that this new Mike Horn Edition is one of the few watches that can be labeled as “Green”. With a commitment to the preservation of the earths resources, this PAM00984 combines a very unique look from Panerai with a positive message that many can stand behind.
PANERAI PAM00984 MIKE HORN EDITION SUBMERSIBLE
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MOVEMENT: Automatic mechanical, P. 9010 calibre, entirely executed by Panerai. 13 . lignes, 6 mm thick, 31 jewels, 28,800 alternations/hour, Incabloc® anti-shock device, two barrels.
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, calculation of immersion time.
CASE: 47 mm, EcoTitanium™. Unidirectional rotating bezel. EcoTitanium™ back with engraving. Device protecting the crown (protected as a trademark) in EcoTitanium™.
DIAL: black with luminous hour markers and dots. Date at 3 o’clock, small seconds at 9 o’clock.
POWER RESERVE: 72 hours.
WATER-RESISTANCE: 30 bar (~ 300 metres).
STRAP: blue recycled PET strap.