Officine Panerai

The legendary watch maker from Florence has its roots in the 1860 founded company of Guido Panerai & Figlio, a company specialising in precision mechanics, who supplied the Italian Marine amongst others. The Italian Navel Forces ordered Compasses, depth gauges and Torpedo igniters, from this renowned specialist company from Florence. But Guido Panerai was not content with this. In 1936 under the new name of Officine Panerei, the company produced its first Divers Watches for competitive swimmers. The Radiomir model was the first of a special line of top quality products, which operate reliably, even in extremely difficult conditions. The company experienced a boom in the middle of the 1990's: watch collectors were fascinated by the brand and the character of the watches, a situation, which also caught the attention of financially strong and stable companies. In the year 1997 the Richemont Group bought the business. The investments soon paid off: Officine Panerai watches rank today, high amongst the top trend setting watches in the world. Richement was clever enough, not to break the historical roots of the company. Today the company's administrative centre is in Switzerland, but the most important reference for fans of this brand is however, the legendary Bottega d´Arte Panerai. After very complex renovations the Watchmaker's workshop was reopened in the heart of Florence. Before any renovations could be carried out, permission from the highest Italian military authorities was needed as originally precision instruments were made here for the Marine, under the strictest secrecy.

The most important milestones of Officine Panerai were shown when the company opened the doors of its showroom in 1900 for the first time. Original instruments and tools from Guido Panerai and his son were to be marvelled at, as well as sketches, grand father clocks and wall clocks.

Notable collectors watches from Officine Panerai: Luminor Marina, Radiomir, Luminor GMT, Luminor Base, Luminor Daylight Chrono, Submersible and Radiomir GMT