17
THE HISTORY
Since 1860, the company guido Panerai & Figlio, suppliers to the Royal Italian
Navy, had been producing instruments of high precision and technological
sophistication. As a result, the name of Panerai has become indissolubly linked
with the marine environment, the measurement of time and space, and the
development of an elevated standard of quality and reliability, a fundamental
requirement of the equipment supplied to the military.
Officine Panerai began to produce watches in March 1938 with the Radiomir, a
model which played a part in the exploits of the commandos of the Italian Navy
who wore it on their wrists. The Panerai Luminor has been recognised as a
historically important watch by virtue of the robustness and originality of its
design; the small number of examples produced, together with the first Radiomir
watches, are some of the rarities most sought-after by collectors in the field.
Since 1993, Officine Panerai has offered updated Luminor and Radiomir models
on the international market, thus becoming one of the undisputed leaders in the
haute horlogerie sports sector.
Making good use of the resources of the Panerai manufacture, highly reliable,
technologically avant-garde watches are being created; these are watches
made to the criteria of craftsmanship inherited from the traditions of the past,
tested to resist extremely strong adverse influences.
Panerai watches are distributed through a highly selective international network
of watch specialists as well as through the Panerai boutiques. The addresses are
available on our website www.panerai.com.
The Panerai boutique in Florence in the early 1900s.
