About Panerai Watch company

Officine Panerai is an Italian brand of watches owned by the Richemont International SAgroup. Its watches are currently manufactured in Neuchâtel, Switzerland with some movements designed and manufactured in-house.  Otherwise they use decorated ETA movements. 

History of Panerai Watch company

Giovanni Panerai, founder of the family businessIn 1860 Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897), founder of the family business, opens the first watchmaker's shop in Florence on the Ponte alle Grazie and establishes contact with the most prestigious and longest established Swiss watch manufacturers. Giovanni is succeeded by his son, Leon Francesco.

Guido Panerai (1873-1934), grandson of the founder, expands his grandfather's business and gives it new impetus, specializing in high precision mechanisms and becoming official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy. 

At the turn of the century, the shop moves to the Piazza San Giovanni site in Florence, where the Panerai boutique can be found today, and the Orologeria Svizzera name, still visible today, appears on the shop door to underline the close link between the watches and their Swiss origin.
In this period, the first deliveries of precision optical and mechanical instruments are made to the Ministry of Defence. 

The first experiments with luminous materials begin in 1910, and a system is developed to make instrument dials and sighting and telescopic devices luminous. The luminescence is achieved using a mix of zinc sulphide and radium bromide given later the name Radiomir.
Inserted into tiny glass tubes to increase its resistance over time, this mix was the subject of patent applications by Guido Panerai in Italy and other countries. 

From 1915 to 1918, the Royal Italian Navy employs the precision instruments supplied by Panerai during the First World War. The products delivered include luminous devices for sighting naval guns at night, timing mechanisms, depth gauges and mechanical calculators to launch torpedoes from MAS, high speed motor torpedo boats.In 1934 Guido Panerai's children, Giuseppe and Maria, continue developing their father's business. Maria is mainly concerned with running the Orologeria Svizzera shop, while Giuseppe devotes himself almost entirely to the company's business of supplying underwater instruments, torches, wrist compasses and wrist depth gauges to the Royal Italian Navy. He can take credit for the creation of the famous Radiomir and Luminor watches. 

In 1936 following disappointing tests carried out on the watches available at that time, the Royal Italian Navy asks Panerai to develop a watch able to withstand the extreme conditions it will be subjected to. A Radiomir prototype is submitted to the Command of the First Submarine Group and the watch passed all the tests with flying colours. 

Radiomir watches by PaneraiIn 1938 production of Radiomir watches begins for the Italian Navy, with a large (47 mm in diameter) cushion-shaped  case, wire loop strap attachments welded to the case, screw-down crown, luminous dial easy to read under water in the dark, and a hand-wound mechanical movement supplied by Rolex. The wide strap was made of oiled and punched leather, and with its extra long length it could be worn over the diving suit. 
 
In 1943 Officine Panerai presents the prototype of the first Panerai chronograph, the Mare Nostrum, designed for deck officers. Due to events in the war, the Mare Nostrum never went into production but remained at the prototype stage.

In the early 40s the device protecting the winding crown was fitted to the Radiomir watch to keep the crown in position. This device will enable the watches to descend to a depth of 200 metres, a remarkable achievement for the time. In 1948 The patent is granted for Luminor, the luminous substance based on tritium, which replaced the previous Radiomir mix developed between 1910 and 1915. The Radiomir and Luminor watches take their names from these two luminous substances.

On the request of the Egyptian Navy, Panerai creates a large Radiomir watch with an Angelus movement with 8-day power reserve and a rotating bezel with 5-minute intervals to calculate immersion times.
For other Mediterranean Navies, Panerai makes limited production runs of approximately thirty pieces each.

In the same year the patent is granted in Italy for the device protecting the winding crown, which clamps it in position and ensures the water-resistance of the watch. This device will be patented in the U.S.A. in 1960.

In 1980 a watch is designed capable of withstanding a pressure equivalent to a depth of 1000 metres. The only prototype built has a titanium case, an automatic mechanical movement, a rubber strap and a luminous dial achieved by using tiny phials of tritium on the dial face and on the hands. In 1980 a watch is designed capable of withstanding a pressure equivalent to a depth of 1000 metres. The only prototype built has a titanium case, an automatic mechanical movement, a rubber strap and a luminous dial achieved by using tiny phials of tritium on the dial face and on the hands. 

In 1995 a special edition of watches called Slytech is created. Sly is the nickname of actor Sylvester Stallone, a great admirer of the watch, who had requested a special edition called Submersible to use during the shooting of the movie Daylight. Subsequently, Stallone requested an edition with a white dial, named Daylight, and a personalized re-edition of the Mare Nostrum. All of these watches bear the actor's signature engraved on the back. 

In 1997 the Vendôme Group, now RICHEMONT, takes over Officine Panerai and the company's range of watches, compasses, torches and depth gauges. New productions are started up, with a significant improvement in quality, and the official watch of Italian Navy commandos takes on an international dimension following a worldwide launch. 

In 2000 Panerai creates the Luminor Submersible 1000 metres, a professional diver's instrument designed according to the NIHS (Normes de l'Industrie Horlogère Suisse) specifications relating to diver's watches and able to withstand a depth of 1000 metres. Equipped with a helium valve necessary for decompression, the sapphire crystal has a thickness of 5.1 mm and the steel back is 3 mm thick. 

In 2004 the Radiomir collection is enhanced by the 8 Days model. This is a return to the past, with the re-presentation in a modern key of a mechanism which Officine Panerai has already experimented with, the hand-wound 8-day movement. The calibre used in the 1940s was the Angelus, while the new model has a Jaeger-LeCoultre base.
The case is 45 millimetres in diameter and is fitted with the patented slim wire loop strap attachments and a round caseband, while the screwed back and crown ensure water-resistance to 100 metres. 

In 2005 Panerai presented the first Panerai in-house movement: the calibre P.2002 This is a hand-wound mechanical movement of the latest technical conception with 8 days power reserve. It consists of 245 components (191 of them different) and the massive power reserve has been incorporated into a device of completely new design consisting of three spring barrels and a free balance spring oscillating at the frequency of 4 Hz, corresponding to 28,800 alternations/hour. The horizontal power reserve indicator is located at 6 o'clock. The P. 2002 calibre also features the GMT home time function with local time indicator over 12 hours and a.m. - p.m. indicator, hours, minutes, seconds and date. The system for setting the time uses the second reset device, which stops the balance and aligns the second hand automatically in the zero position when the crown is pulled out, providing an extremely accurate way of synchronising the watch with the reference time signal. The development of this movement took four years due to its technical complexity.