FROM 1993–2017: THE PANERAI MARE NOSTRUM 42MM

Back in the day, before the Richemont Group (then Vendôme) had acquired, or perhaps even heard of Panerai, the brand’s few models were simply curiosities of interest to two types of collectors: those who amass military watches and all-embracing Rolex aficionados. It was obscure if not quite unknown, and price guides from the mid-1980s show Panerais with the kind of values that would, today, stop your heart from beating — as in, you couldn’t give ’em away.

Panerai’s appeal for military-watch collectors is obvious. Prior to 1993, they were made solely for assorted navies’