Q&AFor The Life Of The Ocean—Part II: A Conversation With Panerai Brand Ambassador Mike Horn

How did adventure become a profession?

I took on adventure as an exercise to see how far I could push my mind and body. Then I started going on expeditions, I started taking risks, and then these risks quickly became a way of life for me. It made me feel alive. Then I got sponsorships, and it became a profession.

How did your association with Panerai begin?

I knew that they made instruments for divers, and I knew they could make something for my trips too, without only counting on GPS, and batteries, and screens that could freeze. But I didn’t know how to approach Panerai. Then in 2001, I won a Laureus World Sport Award for the circumnavigation of the world. Johann Rupert (the chairman of the Richemont Group of luxury brands, which Panerai is a part of) was at the presentation. He came to me and took his watch off (a special edition Laureus watch), put it on me and said, “From today, you’ll only wear this watch.” And that’s where the relationship began.

"I tell [Panerai] my requirements. For instance, I need a clear dial with more luminous hands. When I look, I get only a second to see the time to check the position of the sun."

"When I skied around the Arctic Circle enduring temperatures of -60 degrees in complete darkness, Panerai had made a timepiece for me that became a navigational tool. [In such] cold temperatures, the crystal liquid of any GPS freezes."

Talk about Panerai’s special watches that you’ve used.

When I skied around the Arctic Circle enduring temperatures of -60 degrees in complete darkness, Panerai had made a timepiece for me that became a navigational tool. When you go into cold temperatures, the crystal liquid of any GPS freezes. And, at the magnetic North Pole, compasses don’t work. Panerai made a watch for me that could tolerate the cold temperatures with special oils that wouldn’t freeze. I need the accurate time to maintain direction, based on the position of the sun. With Panerai watches, I’ve climbed high altitudes, and I’ve been to the bottom of the ocean.

How involved are you in the creation of these special watches?

I tell them my requirements. For instance, I need a clear dial with more luminous hands. When I look, I get only a second to see the time to check the position of the sun. If there are only dots around the watch, I could confuse the time, and that would slow me down. I could ask them to put a strap in cloth or nylon, which don’t freeze, because even rubber straps become hard and brittle at -50.

The Panerai Submersible Mike Horn Edition in blue is limited to 19 pieces, and comes with the promise of a special experience of nature's extremes with Mike Horn himself

What are your thoughts on the Submersible Mike Horn?

Eco-titanium is something that is totally new and innovative, I think. The world is my playground. I can see a lot of environmental changes. I think it’s important that a company like Panerai invests in the future of our planet, and to make a watch strap out of plastic bottles, and to be able to use recycled titanium for the case is a way that we can go into the future. Today, it’s initial steps that will lead to trends, which will become the rules and regulations of the future. We consume too much of the resources that the world has to offer. To be able to recycle used resources to make a watch like this is a way to start taking care of the mother that feeds us.

"To make a watch strap out of plastic bottles, and to be able to use recycled titanium for the case is a way that we can go into the future," says Mike Horn

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Horn's signature is seen engraved on the caseback of the Mike Horn Edition, along with a depiction of sea creatures, who are most affected by the plastic in the ocean

₹29,93,000

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Click here to read more about the Panerai Submersible Mike Horn Edition

What other environmental initiatives have you taken with Panerai?

They did an expedition for me that was more environmentally focused, with a watch called the Pangea Submersible. We’ve done coral reconstruction, planted six million trees in the Amazon, we’ve started cleaning up the ocean, and we started an environmental project that educated young people to shape them into preservers of our planet.

When you’re planning an expedition, how do you decide what you want to do, and what route you want to take?

It’s the accumulation of the knowledge of expeditions of the past. You get ideas for the future. It’s like growing up. With more knowledge and greater understanding, you can take more responsibility. Each time you can go a little higher, a little farther, and into what’s more difficult, and find things that were not possible to find before. Thirty years ago, I could never dream of crossing Antarctica. Although I wanted to, I needed 25 years of experience to even attempt it. And there’s just one moment when it comes to your mind, when you feel like you have the knowledge to take it on.

What’s next for you and your partnership with Panerai?

The partnership with Panerai will be ongoing. For now, to be able to have a watch that’s more eco-friendly becomes a mission for me at a certain age of my life. Because I cannot keep on exploring. I’ll get to an age when I’ll have to slow down. And for that, I have started to think of how the planet, as the source that feeds us, needs to be taken care of. That’s where I can play a role. But for now, this year, I’m doing a north ridge of K2. It’s an unclimbed ridge; it’s never been done. I’ll have the Pole-to-Pole watch. And then I’m doing the crossing of the North Pole, so it’s all still very exciting.