The beginnings of Officine Panerai Watches, founded by Italian watchmaker Giovanni Panerai, began during the 1860's in Florence, Italy. The unique storefront was a one stop shop with everything available held together in one place - a shop, a repair workshop, and the city's first watchmaking school. The shop later assumes the name "Orologeria Svizzera," roughly translating to "Swiss Watchmaking."
During the late nineteenth century, Giovanni and his son Leon Francesco worked with renowned watch leaders in the industry, building relationships and establishing their supplier network, which led them to their solid foundation of growth before entering the next chapter of producing watches.
Under guided direction from Leon Francesco, the company expanded to also become a research and development operation, from specializing in mechanical engineering to hardware fabrications.
By the next century, Panerai Watches was known as "Guido Panerai & Figlio," as it incorporated Giovanni's Grandson's name, Guido into the brand. As the brand became established, Guido secured a deal that made Panerai Watches the official supplier for the Royal Italian Navy, Regia Marina. Their inventions and discoveries during the course of building military watches made them legendary in this sector.
As the brand continued to explore new materials and instruments for the military, they were able to file their first patent, under Radiomir, in March of 1916. The company invented a radium-based powder that could be used to illuminate the dials on their products. Based on how well this material worked, Radiomir soon became a key element used in the company's watch production. The substance's luminosity levels were highly visible and was also excellent underwater. Browse our catalog to find a large collection of Panerai online!