Experiencing the Rare Panerai, Mike Horn, Bhutan, and the Yacht in Duran Duran’s “Rio”
What an interesting set of connections.
We were having lunch with the good people of Panerai, the topic of discussion being their increasingly popular Experiences program.
Panerai has been tied with many of the more adventurous people of the world, which makes sense because it has the history of being a tool watch. If you ever get a chance to get into their archives or attend particular collector events you will see things like depth gauges and flashlights. They were asked to build a watch because the Italian divers that needed to ride torpedos to an enemy ship to place underwater mines said it would be pretty useful if they could tell how much time they left.
So serious.
Even before the “experience” trend of recent years, Panerai would support those that put themselves out there: one of the guys I met several years ago was the adventurer Mike Horn. That’s kind of downplaying him, because some consider him one of the world’s greatest modern explorers. He has done things like circumnavigate the globe on the equator all unmotorized and swim the Amazon solo. We first met up with him on the Pangaea, his 35 meter sailing yacht.
And we talked about kids.
We talked about how important it was to show young people the world. Up close and personal. He still does this in the program called Pangaea X, creating sought-after spots on half-year incubation programs. The end result is meant to equip participants with tools, knowledge, and support as they go forward with a better understanding of the environmental challenges that face the world.
When Mike Horn and the former Panerai CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué were talking a while back, they spoke of what they haven’t done and what they would like to do. This is how they all ended up bringing guests and watch owners for a very special experience in Bhutan.
Jean-Marc had just come from Bhutan actually, where he and Mike Horn hosted guests that all had one thing in common. They all owned a very special watch: the Panerai Submersible GMT Titanio Mike Horn Experience Edition. When you purchase the watch, the existence of which is not particularly publicized in the mainstream world, you were flown by Panerai from wherever you were to what was an amazing time. You trekked through the remote Himalayas to places such as the Tiger’s Nest and the Wangditse Monastery.
Panerai has been creating these experiences recently tied to their watches. They have been quite successful in bringing people into the Panerai world that otherwise would not have been there, so they are expanding the fan base rather than preaching to the choir in this case. There are different types of experiences, and this Bhutan journey was on the more spiritual side, perhaps, but also required some serious physical and mental stamina. Other experience pieces offer different opportunities, some of which are way more demanding, such as spending a few days playing with the boys of different special forces units around the world.
This brings us to the Duran Duran video Rio, and the Eilean, a pretty important vessel in the pop and musical culture of the time—and indeed of the sailing world—as it was built by an important luxuryLuxuryA lifestyle defined by exceptional quality, craftsmanship, exclusivity, and sophistication, encompassing the finest products, services, and experiences that represent the highest standards of refinement and excellence.Go to Luxury Glossary yacht builder.
The Eilean was literally seen through the leaves in Antigua’s English Harbour by another previous Panerai CEO, the legendary Angelo Bonati. The vessel was not in the greatest of shape, but Mr. Bonati is an avid sailor. He immediately recognized the dragon emblem of Scottish yacht builder William Fife Jr. It was in need of restoration. Panerai came to the rescue initially with the plan of just keeping an important piece alive. Panerai, besides having a history with the working maritime world, also ran its own Classic Yachts Challenge and supported other sea-related causes. There is a wonderful book about the whole Eilean reconstruction journey if you are able to get your hands on one.
The Eilean now anchors one of the latest Panerai experiences, one a little more relaxing than the others, but will still require a bit of physical exertion: a hike along the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. You will also take a helicopter ride over the active volcano, and later have a private tasting of the offerings of a renowned winery all aboard, yes, Eilean.
The watch that is the passport to this experience is much more classic and elegant than those where you rappel off helicopters with soldiers. It is a very special Radiomir, the 8 Giorni Eilean Experience LE PAM01643. The watch is the very classic Radiomir case, which does not have the crown lock. The 45mm stainless steel case here is what they call a “Brunito” which has a special look that seems a bit aged, created by having a black PVD plating that is then brushed repeatedly by hand. It has a wonderful patina look to it. This goes nicely against the bronze bezel and crown, which are made using a special alloy created with some of the bronze taken from the Eilean renovation project. Time is told on the sandwich dial (the color of which is inspired by the sails) with the lumed backplate peeking through the cut-out indices. The second hand subdial is on the left, on the right it says the logo says “8 Giorni Brevettato” which notes the eight-day power reservePower ReservePower reserve refers to the length of time a mechanical watch continues running after being fully wound, before requiring rewinding or additional motion to continue. Longer power reserves, achieved throughGo to Power Reserve Glossary of the watch using their patented system. The P.5000 movement is hand-wound and uses two barrels, hence the eight days.
The name Eilean and the year of her maiden voyage are on the caseback of the watch, and also on the side opposite the crown. It comes with a dark brown calf leather strap with a Brunito steel pin buckle.
In spite of keeping relatively true to just a few historic case, Panerai actually speaks to different types of people. The die-hard Paneristi want the classics, as true to the originals as possible, and indeed have their own special runs made just for them. Deeply horological collectors like the deeply horological complications such as those created by the Panerai Laboritorio di Idee.
An increasing number of fans are being pulled in by the fact that there special watches are now usable in slimmer smaller forms with their Luminor Due family. The Experience watches draw from outside all of those, bringing drawn in not by the watches necessarily but by the spirit and the journey and the chance to do something in a way no one else can ever do—and have a great souvenir from it.