Panerai History

Panerai History

Brush up on your watch history with the stories behind the brands and models you love.

Transcript:
Panerai: Classic tools of the trade.

Panerai was founded in Florence, Italy in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai. This original location was not only a shop and workshop but also the city’s first watchmaking school. In the early days, the brand worked to establish connections in the Swiss watchmaking industry to ensure their watches were crafted with high quality parts and designs. Panerai quickly became the top Italian watch company of the time.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Giovanni Panerai’s grandson Guido assumed his place at the head of the company. He continued to grow the business, but felt the company needed a new vision. Panerai began to specialize in precision mechanisms, such as depth gauges, mechanical calculators, and timing instruments. This ultimately led to their longstanding partnership with the Royal Italian Navy.

In 1916, Panerai had its first big technological breakthrough. They created and filed the patent for Radiomir, a radium-based powder that allowed them to give luminosity to the details of their precision mechanisms. This groundbreaking development gave Panerai the opportunity to produce watches and military devices with optimal legibility in the dark or underwater.

In 1934, Guido’s children took over the family business, and just two years later, Panerai debuted the first Radiomir prototype for the Royal Italian Navy. The initial version of the Radiomir contains many of the characteristics seen in today’s Radiomir collection, such as its luminous dial and cushion-shaped case.

The needs of the military continued to be a driving force for the brand through the Second World War. In 1935, Panerai began working with Rolex to develop professional dive watches for the Royal Italian Navy. The result of this partnership was the first official Panerai Radiomir timepiece, a 47mm wristwatch with the same luminous markings and cushion-shaped case as the original prototype with a waterproofed Rolex movement. The Panerai Radiomir proved to be essential for Regia Marina divers who needed a reliable tool for measuring time and distance underwater for extended periods, as well as the Frogmen of the Italian Navy who manned Slow Moving Torpedoes to their designated targets during covert night missions.

In 1949, Panerai patented a new and improved luminous substance called Luminor. With this innovation came a new model, aptly named the Luminor. The first Luminor had a similar look to the Radiomir, featuring a cushion-shaped case, a crown-protecting bridge, and a flatter, wider bezel.

Just a few years later, in 1956, Panerai filed the patent for the now iconic crown-protecting bridge that first appeared on the Luminor. The bridge has become a signature detail for both the Luminor model and the Panerai brand.

1972 marked a year of great transition for Panerai. After remaining a family business for over a century, engineer Dino Zei took over the company and ushered the brand through the “Quartz Crisis” by going back to its roots and classic models.

Panerai was acquired by the Richemont Group in 1997, which gave the brand access to a larger network for development, production, and distribution. This gave Panerai the resources to create their first in-house movement in 2005, called the P.2002, a hand-wound caliber with a GMT function and an eight-day power reserve. Since this expansion, the Panerai name has become synonymous with Italian luxury watches.

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