“Mare Nostrum”, which translates as “Our Sea” and dates as a phrase from the successful conquests of Egypt and Spain by the Romans, refers to the Mediterranean waters in which the Italian naval fleet operated during World War II. It was adopted by Panerai as a name for the torpedo timers which formed a key part of its manufacturing business.
The story goes that the firm was asked to develop a chronograph wristwatch for the Navy’s deck officers in 1942 and, by the following year, had produced a small (but unknown) quantity of prototypes featuring a vast, 52mm steel case that contained an Angelus Calibre 215 column wheel chronograph movement, with an escapement operating at 18,000 vibrations per hour. But the Allied invasion of Italy in September of 1943 put paid to the watch ever going into production. This would make the prototypes hugely collectable more than half a century later.
In 1993 Officine Panerai SpA in Florence introduced a replica of the Mare Nostrum with reference number 5218-301/A. The watch had been designed after the only available evidence for the existence of such chronograph in the past, a photographic plate found in the archives. The Panerai PAM 5218 is the so-called 'Pre-Vendome' Mare Nostrum with blue dial and tachymeter bezel. It is powered by the hand-wound ETA 2801 with Dubois-Depraz chrono module. This Pam arrives with complete set , box and warranty and is in very close to new condition