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Panerai’s Slytech Luminor

The Panerai Watch Company has been around since the 1860s. It is an Italian brand and pitted against the commercial success of known Swiss brands. The brand catered  more to the needs of the  navy for precision timepieces. Panerai was the official supplier of watches for the Italian Navy for it was able to design and manufacture timepieces that can withstand extreme weather and underwater conditions.

In 1972, Panerai officially became Panerai Office and the brand was still closely linked to the Italian Royal Navy.  However, in 1993, Panerai’s Marina Militare timepieces were no longer feasible with the Italian navy. The model was said to be no longer cost-effective and no longer meets the requirements of the navy.  The company could not just fold as its heritage  had too much to offer so the company opened its first retail shop for the public sometime in 1993-94. The brand was of no consequence, Panerai was an obscure brand until Sylvester Stallone.

Great watches are just meant to be. It was said that Stallone spotted a Panerai watch on display at a shop in Rome. The actual watch was a Panerai Luminor Chrono and old Sly had to get one to use for his blockbuster movie “Daylight”.   Panerai must have thanked its lucky star when Stallone ordered a bunch of Panerais with his signature at the back case – “Slytech”. He gave the watches as gifts to his friends including Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the USA. The rest was history. The watch gained exposure in the movie and thus gathered a following of the rich and famous thanks to Stallone. Among celebrity Panerai  endorsers are former US President Bill Clinton, actors Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan, Orlando Bloom, Ben Affleck and Jason Statham.

Sylvester Stallone became Panerai’s number one celebrity endorser. He requested the watch company to make special editions to suit his needs like the personalized Mare Nostrum.  In the latest installment of the Rambo movie series, the model was a Panerai PVD Luminor Marina Militare. Its black and non-reflective surface was perfect for Rambo’s stealth operations. ( Iconic Watches has one of these in stock for any budding John rambos)

In honor of Sylvester Stallone Panerai in 2005 launched a limited edition of 500 watches of the Stopwatch 1000M Slytech.  The watch was specifically designed for underwater use of professional divers. Water resistant at 1000 meters the model has pressure and helium release valves.  The is a Luminor with a 47 mm with a 27 rubies encrusted titanium case. Powered by a Panerai Cop XII mechanism, it has COSC certification as a chronometer.  The royalties from the sale of this model goes to the heart foundation for children.

Panerai Watch

The watch brand Officine Panerai is not new in the watch industry. It has been around since the last half of the 19^th century but the brand did not go public until the 1990s.

Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897) opened his watch repair shop in Florence in 1860.  His was the first watch repair shop that side of Italy. Panerai established contact with the great Swiss watch manufacturers during that time. Upon his death, his son and then grandson held the reign of the company. It was during the 1890s that Panerai became the official supplier of precision instruments to the Royal Italian Navy. The shop was moved to Piazza San Giovanni and it still there today. It was also during this time that experiments in the use of luminous materials for underwater instruments and watches commenced. The prototype of the Radiomir was manufactured in the 1930s under the leadership of Panerai’s grandchildren.

In 1938, Panerai became the official watch maker of the Italian Royal Navy because it was able to develop a watch that could withstand the extreme conditions it will be exposed to.  Panerai’s Radiomir watch was large at 47mm in diameter. The dial is luminous to better facilitate reading under water in the dark.  In 1943 the first chronograph, Mare Nostrum, was developed for deck officers.  In 1949 the Luminor was patented thus replacing the Radiomir. However in 1956, Panerai was commissioned by the Egyptian Navy to develop large Radiomir watches.

The year 1972 was a turning point in the company. Panerai changed ownership and it became Officine Panerai.  Until 1993, Panerai continued its close collaboration with the Italian navy.  By this time Panerai watches for the “Marina Militare” no longer met specifications and where not cost-effective anymore.  Panerai watches caught the public’s eye when the actor Sylvester Stallone used a Panerai watch in one of his movies. Stallone also had a special batch made for his friends thus making the brand a by-word among celebrities.

By 1997, Officine Panerai was absorbed by Richemont group. New products were conceptualized, designed and created that in no time at all Panerai watches hit the global market after a much-publicized worldwide launch.

Panerai had always used Swiss movements supplied by Rolex or by ETA. However, starting 1997, it produced its first in-house Calibre starting with Calibre P.2002, P.2003, P. 2004 and P.2005.  Its latest is the Calibre P.9000, P.9001 and P.9002.

Presently, Officine Panerai has four lines: Historic; Contemporary, Specialties and Special Editions.  A classic sample under Historic is the Luminor Marina that is 44mm in diameter, has a hand-wound mechanical movement, a 56 hours reserve, water resistant at 300 meters, polished steel or brushed titanium bezel and an anti-reflective coating.  In the Contemporary line, the Radiomir 10 Days GMT is big at 47mm, has an automatic  mechanical Calibre P.2005 and water resistant at 100 meters.  The L’ Astronomo Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT has a diameter of 50mm, a polished titanium for Bezel and a Panerai Calibre P.2005.

Panerai watches are usually produced in limited numbers of 500, 1000, 2000 or 4000 units only.  Each year, starting in 1997, a special edition watch is released.  The Radiomir 47mm was its first special edition watch.  For 2010, there are four special edition watches: Radiomir Composite Marina Militare with 1500 units; the Marem Nostrum with 99 units; the Luminor GMT with 1000 units and the Radiomir Regatta 1/8 second with 500 units.

In 2006 Ferrari partnered with Panerai as its official time keeper.  Panerai developed and created two lines for the Ferrari brand: Granturismo and Scuderia and seven special edition watches. Current price tag of Panerai runs from $5,300 to $28,000.

Check our Panerai range here at iconicwatches.co.uk