Panerai - Always Brilliant, Always Perfect
Perhaps no other watch brand has so many fans. Those who love Panerai watches call themselves “paneristi”. The amount of the brand’s fans continuously increases, especially in USA.
What is the secret of popularity of Panerai watches? They have peculiar military design and their over sized cases look really great, however, these characteristics cannot explain so incredible popularity. If you want to understand the secret of the brand’s fame, you should get familiar with its history, that is full of bright events.
Panerai was founded in 1860 in Italy by Giovanni Panerai. Initially this was a shop that sold Swiss watches. In the end of the XIX century the grandson of Giovanni began production of precision optical and mechanical instruments. Very soon the company got orders from Department of Devence.
Since military forces need instruments that can be used in complete dark, professionals from Panerai began experimenting with materials. As the result Panerai invented Radiomir -a luminescent chemical mixture.
As soon as the World War I began, the demand for Panerai instruments increased dramatically. Italian army ordered compasses, depth-gauges, spyglasses for divers, lanterns for divers and many other instruments. Panerai became the official supplier of Italian naval forces.
In 1936 Panerai developed a watch for divers. The prototype of the first model that was called Radiomir successfully underwent all trials and in a year later it was released.
The watch had a big (47 mm) case, manual wind Rolex movement, screw-in crown and, of course, luminous hands, numerals and indexes. The watch featured a long waterproof strap due to which the watch could be worn above the sleeve of the water-immersion jacket. During the World War II this watch was very successfully used by Italian soldiers.
Later Panerai began using a new Angelus caliber. The main advantage of this caliber is 8 day power reserve.
In 1949 instead of Radiomir, that turned out to be quite harmful, Panerai began using Luminor that gave the name to the new watch lineup. However, it stands to mention that Radiomir and Luminor are very similar to each other.
After the war Panerai continued producing watches for army, however, the range of activity was very modest. During 45 years the company released only about 45 000 watches.
In 1993 the new life of Panerai began. In that year Panerai began making “civil” watches. The first model that entered the market was the Luminor with Unitas Caliber. The brand immediately got great popularity, especially after the Daylight film appeared. In this film Silvester Stallone wears a Panerai watch, so everyone who saw the film understood what watch can be used in extreme situations.
In 1997 Panerai began conquering the world of luxury. New owners of the brand understood that originality and unique history of Panerai provide a great chance to become a part of watch elite. Simplicity and big sizes of these watches made the timepieces different from others. However, simplicity is not enough for being the best. The main thing that was required was to provide very high quality of watches. Panerai once again proved its being a manufacturer of the world’s best watches. Its timepieces, such as Luminor GMT, Luminor Power Reserve, Luminor Submersible and many others amazed everyone by their perfect accuracy, reliability and complicity.
Together with other watches, Panerai releases Special Editions – watches that are made out of rare metals, that feature rare calibers and rare functions. These watches are designed for most demanding connoisseurs and watch collectors.
