Panerai Explained

Panerai
Type:Subsidiary
Foundation: in Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Founder:Giovanni Panerai
Location:Geneva, Switzerland
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Jean Marc Pontroue CEO,
Olivier BertoinFinance Director
Industry:Manufacturing
Products:Luxury watches
Num Employees:740
Parent:Richemont

Officine Panerai (also known simply as Panerai) is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.[1]

Officine Panerai designs, manufactures and markets watches through authorized dealers and company-owned stores worldwide. Giovanni Panerai (1825–1897) founded Officine Panerai in Florence, Italy in 1860.

The company is headquartered in Geneva and manufactures watches in Neuchâtel, Switzerland using movements manufactured by Manufacture Horlogère ValFleurier.[2] [3]

Panerai watches, designed and manufactured by Rolex SA, were worn by the frogmen of the Decima Flottiglia MAS in their operations during World War II. Notable products include the Luminor and Radiomir wristwatches.

History

Giovanni Panerai (1825–1897) opened up his first watch shop in Florence, Italy in 1860. Giovanni's grandson Guido Panerai (1873–1934) expanded the watch shop "Orologeria Svizzera"[4] and took over his wife's family business, a mechanical workshop. In 1915, Guido Panerai invented gun sights that were illuminated by a radium-226/zinc sulfide powder enclosed in small, hermetically sealed vessels.[5] Radiomir, the name for the radium-based luminous mixture is derived from "radio mire", which is Italian for "radium sights".Panerai became an official supplier to the Regia Marina (the Royal Italian Navy), supplying a variety of technical equipment and precision instruments. All Panerai watches, except for the GPF 2/56 were designed and manufactured by Rolex SA using pocket watch movements made by Swiss manufacturer Cortébert.[6] The main driving forces behind the production of the first professional diving watches were Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex and Giuseppe Panerai.[7]

The Florence-based workshop produced wrist-worn diving instruments and, between 1935 and 1970, delivered around 1,600 watches (c. 35 2533s, 1000 3646s, 24 6152s, 36 6154s, 500 6152/1s, and 60 GPF 2/56s), most of them to the Italian Marina Militare. All watches, except for the GPF 2/56, were made by Rolex, and G. Panerai e Figlio produced only the dials for these watches. Panerai dials were rendered luminous with Radiomir, a highly radioactive radium-based self-luminous compound, and later in around 1965, with Luminor, a harmless compound activated by tritium.[8] [9]

The GPF 2/56 (Egiziano Grosso) was produced for the Egyptian Navy in 1956.[10] By 1970, the company ceased to provide watches to the Marina Militare, as they were neither cost-effective nor met the naval specifications. In 1993, it then moved to launch its products in the civilian market. Following its acquisition of Panerai, Richemont repositioned Panerai as a luxury watch brand and increased prices.[11]

Products

Panerai offers watches across four marketing lines: Historic, Contemporary, Manifattura and Special Editions in runs of 500, 1000, 2,000 or 4,000 units; each with its issue number on the case back.[12] The company issues Special Editions by year. For example, in 2006 issued the 1936 California Dial Radiomir special edition, a reissue of the first Panerai model presented to the Italian Marina Militare with production limited to 1936 units.[13]

Ferrari branded Panerai products

When Ferrari's contract with rival watchmaker Girard-Perregaux expired in 2005, Ferrari and Panerai entered into a five-year agreement to design, manufacture and distribute Panerai watches carrying the Ferrari trademark.[14] The collection was branded Ferrari engineered by Panerai and consisted of two product lines marketed as "Granturismo" and "Scuderia". The collection consisted of 11 models priced between US$5,000 and US$30,000. The Panerai-ferrari partnership ended in 2010.

Models

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Swithinbank. Robin. 2020-05-01. Panerai Celebrates the Luminor at 70. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-07-11. 0362-4331.
  2. Web site: FH - Officine Panerai - New Manufacture In Neuchâtel. 2021-07-11. www.fhs.swiss.
  3. Web site: 2016-10-14. A Visit To The Officine Panerai Manufacture In Neuchâtel. 2021-07-11. Fratello Watches - the magazine dedicated to watches. en-US.
  4. Web site: Orologeria Svizzera – the Watch Shop. 22 February 2018.
  5. Web site: Espacenet – search results.
  6. Web site: A Historically Important Collection Of Vintage Panerai Watches. 2021-07-11. Phillips. en.
  7. Web site: Farago. Robert. 2020-03-01. Rolex, Panerai and The Nazis. 2021-07-11. The Truth About Watches. en-US.
  8. Web site: Luminor 2020 – Debunking Panerai's Fictional History of Tritium-Based Lume. 30 November 2019.
  9. Web site: 2018-11-15. Solving the Panerai Dial Mystery. 2021-07-11. Watches of Switzerland. en-US.
  10. Web site: History of Panerai WatchBox. 2021-07-11. www.thewatchbox.com. en.
  11. Web site: Beghelli . Chiara . 2019-01-15 . Panerai diventa sponsor di Luna Rossa . 2023-03-22 . Il Sole 24 ORE . it.
  12. Web site: Panerai Historic, Contemporary, Manifattura, Special Edition, Ferrari and Pre-Vendome Models. 2021-07-11. www.paneraisource.com.
  13. Web site: Panerai - A stainless steel limited edition cushion-shaped wristwatch with California dial, 2006 Hong Kong Watch Auction: THREE Hong Kong Monday, November 28, 2016 Lot 890. 2021-07-11. Phillips. en.
  14. Web site: Devil's Advocate: Panerai for Ferrari FER015 Perpetual WatchBox. 2021-07-11. www.thewatchbox.com. en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Panerai".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.