Panerai, Diving into the Superb Watchmaking World
Towards the end of my final year at university, I found myself wanting to get more business insights from the luxury sector. So, I did my best and secured an internship within a public relation agency specialising in luxury brands. Among their clients was the maker of the Panerai watch, Officine Panerai, a luxury but sporty watchmaker brand of Italian heritage.
Details that Overwhelm the Senses
On the last day of my internship, where I spent hours and hours on their Social Media monitoring the Panerai hashtags and feed, they showed me a real Panerai watch, in leather and steel. And when you hold a Panerai watch for the first time in your own hands, so many details come to mind that the senses are almost overwhelmed. The materials, the colours, the style, the weight and the see-through back showing perfectly functioning mechanisms, all fight to be the first detail to surprise the human.
So, then you take a breath and decide what design element to notice first. What to touch? To feel? The warm leather of the strap or the ice-cold clock face? Then you start combining all these elements together and you realise that the next thing you want to save for is a Panerai watch.
The Panerai Universe
Beyond the fine craftsmanship, a Panerai watch is one of those luxury goods that tells a story, that makes you enter a whole world. The Panerai universe was created in 1860 in Firenze (Florence) by the watchmaker Giovanni Panerai with the first shop and workshop, as well as the first Swiss watchmaking school in the city.
The Radiomir
And as it happened for many other brands with such a long heritage (think about Burberry for instance), wartime played a huge role in bringing them to fame. It was to satisfy the requests of the Italian Royal Navy indeed that one the most iconic and best-selling Panerai models was born, the Radiomir. With fluorescent dials, a water-resistant strap and almost indestructible features, this Panerai watch model was the future in a time where innovation was a competitive edge.
From the Radiomir model, then, the evolution of Panerai watches continued through the Laminor, the Egiziano, and the Mare Nostrum. This isjust to mention a few. And throughout its evolution, Panerai stayed faithful to its origins. This holds true even now as a subsidiary of the luxury conglomerate Richmond.
The Panerai Maritime Lifestyle
By reviving its old classics in modern times, while adding new technological innovations like an 8-day automatic power reserve, Panerai remains an integral part of that ancient maritime lifestyle from which its myth was created. At the same time a Panerai watch is a must for sporty and stylish gentlemen, devoted to classics but modern and trendy at the same time. So, picture this: a nicely tanned, good looking sailor with a Luminor on his wrist and at the helm of a classic yacht. Isn’t it the sweetest dream?