SMOOTH OPERATOR

"Operator" is often used to refer to a member of Special Operations Forces. The Panerai Submersible Forze Speciali Experience Edition is the only watch that gives you that luxury; not of\playing pretend but actually embodying the mindset that makes these elite soldiers so special

- JONATHAN HO

PERHAPS IT SHOULD have cottoned on early in the journey that I am about to experience something I've never experienced before. Seated in the Mercedes-Benz minivan beside me is Robin Nooy, a fellow journalist who reaches over with a handshake and lets on, "I was given a training schedule to follow for six weeks to get in shape." I process that information with quiet trepidation. I mean I keep in shape, but am I actually special forces fit? With the rapidity of an Italian Beretta ARX160 on automatic fire, I manage creeping anxiety with the certainty of "they wouldn't make VIP customers do life threatening crazy shit, would they?" Then my mind takes me back to weeks before, when I was made to do an electro-cardiograph on a treadmill in order to be medically cleared for the activities.

You see, Panerai dropped two new rugged Submersible editions inspired by the Italian special forces early this year and the Panerai Submersible Forze Speciali Experience Edition comes with an invitation to take part in a special forces exercise in Italy. As an honoured commentator on luxury timepieces, I was invited by Panerai HQ to journal my time with the warriors at San Marco Regiment.

The airport transfer drops us off at Borgo Egnazia, easily the Mediterranean's most beautiful hotel. With the deep blue of the Adriatic for a backdrop, a replica Italian village of whitewashed stones and candlelit interiors is the off-the-grid haven for the world's rich and famous. I'm lulled into a false sense of complacency in these surrounds until I see the military garb in the olive green duffle bag I recognise from my days in National Service. Panerai means business.