In 1860, Giovanni Panerai opened a family watch shop. The watchmaker’s shop was on the Ponte alle Grazie in Florence, Italy and was the first shop of its kind in the city. Throughout the next years, Giovanni Panerai developed an on-going relationship with some of the most reputable Swiss watch manufacturers in the world.
During the 1890s, the business focused on developing high precision mechanisms. The watch manufacturer became the official supplier to the Royal Navy in Italy due to the success of its high precision mechanisms. In 1900, the watchmaker’s shop moved to the Piazza San Giovanni district. This Panerai boutique is still opened to this day with the Orologeria Svizzera symbol on the shop door, which connects the Italian watch shop to its Swiss foundation.
1915 through 1918 Panerai was the official supplier of precision instruments to the Royal Italian Navy during World War I. Panerai supplied the Italian Navy with luminous instruments that provided visibility of naval guns at night. Panerai also supplied the Italian Navy with timing mechanisms, depth gauges, and highly-technical calculators that had the ability to launch torpedoes from high speed motor boats.
1938 marked the year that Panerai began producing the Radiomir watch for the Italian Navy. This watch featured a large diameter and wire loop strap attachments that were welded to the case. The watch also provided a luminous dial that enabled divers to read the watch underwater. The Radiomir also featured a hand-wound movement, which was supplied by Rolex.
In 1943, Panerai launched its first chronograph. The Mare Nostrum was exclusively designed for military officers. However, because of the war production of the watch remained in prototype stage. The Mare Nostrum was designed to reach a depth of 200 meters, which was a magnificent accomplishment for this time period.
Panerai was granted a patent for the luminous substance, which was based of tritium, in 1949. This substance replace the mixture that was developed for the Radiomir from 1910 through 1915. The Radiomir and Luminor watch models names were inspired from the two substances.
In 1972, the company was taken over by Dino Zei, and the watch company was officially named Officine Panerai s.r.l. The watch manufacturer continued to provide watches and intruments to the Italian Navy.
1993 was the year Panerai released a limited edition series, which were numbered, of the Luminor, Luminor Marina, and the Mare Nostrum chronograph to the civilian market.
In 1995, the Slytech was released. The Slytech was named after Sylvester Stallone, who asked for a special edition of the watch. The watch was called the Submersible that was used during the filming of Daylight. The watch company also made Stallone a special edition of the Submersible called the Daylight, which had a white dial.
In 1998, Panerai released its first automatic watches with mechanical movements to the civilian market. These were the Luminor Submersible Professional Diver’s Watch, the Luminor GMT, and the Luminor Power Reserve.
Panerai released the Luminor Submersible 1000 in the year 2000. This professional diver’s watch was designed to withstand depths up to 1000 meters. The Luminor Submersible 1000 features a helium valve and a sapphire crystal that is 5.1 mm thick.
In 2004, the 8 Days model was released as part of the Radiomir collection. The watch features a Jaeger-LeCoultre base and a casing is 45 mm in diameter. The 8 Days model is guaranteed water-resistant up to 100 meters.