In part 1 of this XXL special, I will first go into the most exciting details of the rich history of the Italian diving watch brand Officine Panerai Replica. Did you know, for example, that wearing Panerai watches with radium luminous material posed a real health risk? And did you know that Sylvester Stallone was anything but accidental when he stumbled across the massive diving watches in an Italian boutique before holding them up to the camera for advertising purposes in the Hollywood film Daylight?

Panerai watches: From a small shop in Florence to the darling of the Marina Militare

The history of the most popular Italian watch brand is long and exciting. The foundation stone for today’s manufacturer Officine Panerai was laid in 1860 when the watchmaker Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897) founded a watch shop on the Ponte alle Grazie in Florence. In addition to trading in pocket watches, Giovanni Panerai’s “Orologeria” also housed a workshop and later the city’s first watchmaking school.

In the 1930s, the shop moved to the Palazzo Arcivescovile (Archbishop’s Palace) on Piazza San Giovanni and changed its name to “Orologeria Svizzera” – note the range of products in the shop at the time: The Swiss watch brands Rolex, Vacheron Constantin and Longines were among them:

Even today, there is a Panerai boutique on the site of the historic Orologeria Svizzera, which was renovated a few years ago. Historical elements were left untouched during the renovation. More insights into the historic Orologeria Svizerra can be found at Perezcope, the blog of Panerai hardcore fan Jose Pereztroika. More about “Paneristi” like Jose can be found in part 2 of this article 🙂