With last year’s limited editions packaged with extreme adventures having sold well commercially, Panerai is once again offering a watch packaged with a once-in-a-lifetime experience, except that the timepiece is no longer merely a basic dive watch.

Limited to just five pieces, the Submersible EcoPangaea Tourbillon GMT PAM01108 is equipped with a skeletonised movement featuring a second time zone and tourbillon. More unusually, the massive, 50 mm case of the PAM 1108 is fabricated from recycled steel.

The EcoPangaea tourbillon has an unusual bezel milled to have its markings in relief

Named EcoPangaea steel, the material is recycled from the discarded drive shaft of Pangaea, the 35 m sailboat owned by South African conservationist and explorer Mike Horn. The vessel has accompanied Mr Horn on various expeditions around the world, from Antarctica to the Amazon.

Fittingly, the watch includes an Arctic adventure supervised by Mike Horn, which Panerai describes as “an opportunity to test your physical limits and witness the imperiled state of our ecosystem.”

The perpendicular tourbillon

The PAM 1108 is powered by the P.2005/T, a movement Panerai has used on several other skeleton-tourbillon watches. Hand-wound with a six-day power reserve, the P.2005/T incorporates a second time zone function with a central GMT hand, as well as the novel tourbillon at 10 o’clock.

Unlike conventional tourbillons that rotate on the same plane as the dial, with the balance wheel oscillating the same axis of rotation, the Panerai tourbillon rotates perpendicular to the dial, like a barbecue spit, and at high speed, making one revolution every 30 seconds.

Key facts and price

Submersible EcoPangaea Tourbillon GMT – 50mm
Ref. PAM01108

Diameter: 50 mm
Material: Steel alloy recycled from drive shaft of Pangaea
Water resistance: 300 m

Movement: P.2005/T
Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds, second time zone, 24-hour indicator, power reserve display, and tourbillon regulator
Winding: Hand-wound
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 6 days

Strap: Black rubber with pin buckle, additional woven strap made from recycled PET

Limited edition: 5 pieces
Availability: At Panerai boutiques starting November 2020
Price: €190,000, or 279,000 Singapore dollars

For more information, visit Panerai.com