Officine Panerai delves into its past with the the History and Legend exhibition in Singapore, comprising to historical Panerai watches and for the first time, a full size model of the Italian navy human torpedo known as Siluro a Lenta Corsa (SLC).

Panerai‘s storied history as supplier of watches to Second World War Italian navy commandos will be on display starting August 26, 2015 with the opening of the “History and Legend” exhibition in Singapore. Timepieces spanning its history will be on show, including exceptionally rare vintage watches like the enormous GPF 2/56 dive watch made for the Egyptian navy in the 1950s known as the Egiziano. Also on display is a full size – measuring 7.5m from tip to tip and half a metre in diameter – model of the human torpedo nicknamed maiale, Italian for “pig”; a feature that has been found on several Panerai wristwatches.

Almost as integral to Panerai’s history as the watches, the Siluro a Lenta Corsa (“slow speed torpedo”) was used by Italian navy commandos against Allied ships during World War Two. A pair of frogmen – wear Panerai watches naturally – would ride the SLC to the enemy vessel and attach the torpedo’s warhead to the hull before departing on the torpedo before the explosion. 

GPF 2/56 Egiziano

“History and Legend” is open from August 26 to September 6, 2015, in the atrium on the ground level of ION Orchard. This is the same mall where the “Voyages & Ornaments” exhibition is concurrently running at the Vacheron Constantin boutique.

It’s open daily from 11am to 9pm, with guided tours available starting August 27. The half hour tours are available in the afternoon at 3pm and 5pm at no cost, however, registration is necessary via emailing the Panerai boutique.

The Klokers KLOK-01 gets its inspiration from the slide rule, the mechanical calculator that reigned before the electronic calculator emerged in the 1970s. Featuring an array of scales that enabled multiplication, division and even roots and trigonometry, the slide rule was essentially an analogy computer. The KLOK-01 looks just like a circular slide rule, with three rotating discs for the hours, minutes and seconds.

Despite the finely printed scales, reading the time is straightforward. The outermost disc is for the hours, followed by the minutes printed in red, and the seconds on the innermost disc. A vertical red line at 12 o’clock indicates the time, with a magnifying strip built into the crystal for better legibility. The discs are driven by a quartz movement made by Ronda, a major Swiss supplier.

The time is now 30 seconds past 10:20.

The case made of stainless steel and plastic, with a diameter of 44mm. A patented system allows the case to the slide on and off the strap, with the release button at eight o’clock. The leather straps are designed to be worn as bracelets, and current available in various colours including blue orange and yellow.

Klokers was founded by designer Nicolas Boutherin and Richard Piras, a co-founder of the now defunct independent brand Ladoire.

Three models of the KLOK-01 are currently available, each a limited edition of 200 pieces. They are priced at €299 each (retail is €349) and are available on crowd-funding site Kickstarter. The project has met with an enthusiastic reception as of September 16, 2015, just hours after its launch, Klokers has raised €250,000, five times the original funding goal of €50,000.

Addition September 16, 2015: Kickstarter availability updated.