Panerai Luminor Arktos, Mike Horn ...

12 march 2005

Article by: www.fhs.hk Panerai Luminor Arktos Mike Horn: ?The man who walks? has completed the exploration of the Far North.

Officine Panerai has sponsored Mike Horn?s expedition, providing him with a specially prepared watch, named Panerai Luminor Arktos. This watch will be offered from Late November 2004, in a limited edition, to mark the successful conclusion of the adventure of Mike Horn, ?the man who walks?, a nickname given to him by the Canadian community of the Inuvialuit, one of the civilisations which inhabits the region of the Polar Arctic Circle. The watch is a Panerai Luminor 44 mm with a steel case and water-resistant to a depth of 300 metres, with the classic protective bridge patented by Officine Panerai to safeguard the mechanism from any possible ingress of water. The model dedicated to Mike Horn is offered in a limited edition of 500 units and it has a particular technical feature: a special soft iron internal protection preserves the automatic Panerai OP III calibre from the effect of magnetic fields, which are particularly intense in the vicinity of the North Pole. The special features of the Panerai Luminor Arktos consist of the personalised back, with the logo of the expedition, and its rotating bezel with the four cardinal points marked on it, which enable the direction to be determined by the watch, an empirical method used to determine which way is north from the hour indication of the watch. The hour hand is pointed directly towards the sun; the bezel is then rotated so that the index corresponding to the North point is positioned halfway between this hand and the hour 12 on the dial. If the hour hands indicates 10 o?clock in the morning, the index pointing North will be at 5 o?clock; while at 4 o?clock in the afternoon, or 16.00 hours, the bezel is positioned so that the North is at precisely 8 o?clock. ?The Arktos mission has not only been the test of the strength and determination of one man, but it has also been a scientific experiment in which various kinds of instruments with a high technical content have been tested in absolutely critical conditions. The Luminor Arktos actually remained on Mike Horn?s wrist for over two years, facing the most difficult conditions such as the temperature which fell to -62° C (-94° F) and the magnetic fields of the North Pole. Mike declared: ?At extremely low temperatures everything on me was frozen and did not work any more; the only thing which continued to work was my watch.? Technical specification Case: In three parts, diameter 44 mm, in brushed steel. Special internal anti-magnetic protection in soft iron. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, 4.2 mm thick. Bezel: Steel with brushed finish, with the 4 letters of the cardinal points and 4 applied markers in white gold. Back: Steel, screw-in back, with the logo of the Arktos expedition (the globe and the route travelled by Mike Horn). Movement: Automatic winding, Panerai OP III calibre, 13¼ lignes, 21 jewels. Glucydur® balance with three arms, frequency of operation 28,800 vibrations/hour. Incabloc® anti-shock device. Power reserve of 42 hours. Bridges and rotor personalised with the inscription PANERAI, burnished blued screws. Chronometer certificate (COSC) Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds. Water-resistance: To 300 metres. Dial: Black with luminous hour markers and Arabic numerals, small seconds at 9 o?clock, date window at 3 o?clock. Strap: Rubber with the inscription Officine Panerai in relief, personalised folding buckle in steel with polished finish. Reference: PAM00092 Production: Edition limited to 500 units Panerai Luminor Arktos. Article by: www.fhs.hk