Panerai history

Panerai history

1860 : Giovanni Panerai opens a watchmaker's shop in Florence: a store which is also a workshop, not to mention the city's first watch-making school. Initially located on Ponte delle Grazie, the "Orologeria Svizzera", as it was called, later moves to its
current premises, inside the Palazzo Arcivescovile in Piazza San Giovanni.

1916 : Guido Panerai registers the first of many patents to mark Panerai's long history in innovation. To meet the military
requirement of the Royal Italian Navy, for whom it has already been a supplier for a few years, Panerai creates Radiomir, a
radium-based powder for making sighting instruments and dials luminous.

1936 : On the eve of the Second World War, the instruments developed by Panerai for the Royal Italian Navy take on an even more strategic role. The prototype of the Radiomir watch is created for the underwater exploits of the Command of the First
Submarine Corp, with many of the features which still distinguish it today: a large steel cushion-shaped case (47 mm),
luminous numerals and markers, wire loop strap attachments welded to the case, a Rolex hand-wound mechanical
movement, a wide water-resistant strap, long enough to be fastened over the diving suit.

1938-1949 : The Radiomir watch is subjected to a series of innovations aimed at improving its performance: the new sandwich dial is made more luminous and easier to read; the strap attachments become more resistant and are made from the case itself; and the distinctive lever bridge device is invented, secured with screws to protect the crown. Thanks to these
innovations making it more resistant and water tight, the new Panerai watch becomes the first underwater model (to
depths of 200m) in the history of horology. At the same time, radioactive Radiomir is replaced by Luminor, isotope of the
tritium-based hydrogen, patented by Panerai for the first time in Italy in 1949.

1943 : Officine Panerai presents the prototype of the first Panerai chronograph, the Mare Nostrum, designed for deck officers.

1956 : Panerai develops the "Egyptian" for the Egyptian Navy, an underwater watch of exceptional size and solidity, fitted with a marked bezel for calculating immersion times. In the same year the patent is registered for the crown-protecting bridge which becomes the trademark of the Luminor models.

1972 : Giuseppe Panerai, son of Guido, dies and the family business, along with its position as supplier to the Italian Navy still covered by military secret, is handed over to the management of engineer Dino Zei, who creates the "Officine Panerai"
trademark.

1993 : The first civilian collection by Officine Panerai: three limited edition models inspired by those created for Second World War military operations but made according to the highest modern technical standards.

1997 : Officine Panerai is acquired by the Richemont Group (then Vendome), which launches the brand on the international
market the following year.

2002 : Opening of the Officine Panerai Manufacture in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

2005 : International launch of the first Panerai movement, P.2002: a hand-wound calibre with GMT function and a 8-day power reserve, inspired by the Angelus movement of the 1940s.

2007 : Officine Panerai presents three new calibres entirely conceived and developed in-house: P.2003, P.2004 and P.2005 with an innovative tourbillon escapement.

2008 - 2009 : Launch of the P.9000 movements and opening of new boutiques in Geneva, Madrid, New York, Buenos Aires, Beirut, Doha, Dubai, Macau, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. Presentation of Eilean, the Bermudian ketch built in 1936 in the legendary Fife boatyard, purchased and restored by Officine Panerai.