Panerai Puts The Adventure In Tool Watches With Latest Mike Horn Edition, A Flyback Chrono

Panerai is known not only for creating durable tool watches but for letting real live adventurers break them in while engaging in real life adventures. The Mike Horn series of limited editions is a case in point. The latest limited edition in the series, the Submersible Chrono Flyback Mike Horn Edition PAM1291, limited to 500 pieces, it is the seventh entry in Panerai’s nearly two-decade collaboration with Horn. For those who haven’t heard of him – he is neither Instagrammer nor influencer – Horn is a professional explorer, survival expert and environmentalist. His previous collaborations with Panerai have been tied to specific expeditions, including a journey to the North Pole and a circumnavigation of the globe. Unlike past Panerai Mike Horn limited series, the new PAM1291 is not linked to a specific adventure, but simply represents the spirit of Horn’s endeavors.

As a Panerai, the 47mm watch is typically large, and built for extreme use, with a tough-but-light titanium case and crown protector, a hard-wearing ceramic bezel insert, screw-down chronograph pushers for 300-meter water resistance and a state-of-the-art movement. The caliber P.9100 is the first automatic movement with chronograph functions launched by Panerai in 2013. There are two mainspring barrels, for a 3-day (72-hour) power reserve. The flyback function is an advanced complication that allows the chronograph to reset and restart with one press of the pusher at eight o’clock. Hands, dots and markers are generously coated with Super-LumiNova, for visibility under water. The vivid yellow chronograph seconds hand over a blue dial recalls a previous Horn edition, the Luminor Submersible 1950 Pole 2 Pole limited edition (PAM0719), from 2016.

The watch comes with two straps: a blue rubber accordion strap, which can fit around a wet suit sleeve, and Panerai’s new UPCamo bi-material strap which is a combination of rubber and a camouflage fabric inspired by Italian Navy uniforms. Each watch is delivered in a box made from recycled plastic, part of an ongoing commitment by Panerai in promoting environmentally responsible practices. It is priced at $20,500.