Panerai watches - all prices for Panerai watches on Chrono. Distinctive military watches featuring crown- protecting bridges are synonymous with the name Panerai. Their size and consistent design make these watches real eye- catchers, and they are valued for their functionality, precision, and sturdiness. Whoever wears a Panerai on their wrist calls attention to themselves thanks to the watches' unique designs. These impressive watches range from 4. During this time, Panerai supplied the Italian marines with their diving instruments.
Panerai Vintage Watches. The political circumstances in the second half of the 1930 Biggest Selection of Officine Panerai Watches at Lowest Prices Online. Buy New & Authentic Officine Panerai Watches on Sale. The new Panerai Radiomir 3 Days Acciaio Brevettato PAM685 & PAM687 watches with images, price, background, specs, & our expert analysis. 22mm Diver Straps. 22mm Panatime Black. 22mm Panatime Black Velcro Watch Strap - Attaches with Screws or Spring Bars. 22mm Torrino Italian Lamb Rally;. Officine Panerai is a luxury Swiss watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. Officine Panerai designs, manufactures. Seth Tilli reviews the Panerai Luminor Marina GMT PAM88. Read about the iconic design and what it feels like on the wrist! Sell your Panerai Radiomir watch to Crown and Caliber, the nation’s premier purchaser of high-end luxury timepieces. Request a quote today!
What makes a dress watch? Until now not one Panerai had dress watch properties, but that is about to change with the arrival of the new Panerai Luminor Due.
The crown protection on the Luminor models is particularly striking. When closed, the frame around the crown presses down against it, securing it against the case and making it water resistant. Actor Sylvester Stallone ordered a Slytech, a special Luminor series, while he was shooting the film Daylight. Arnold Schwarzenegger, action hero and the Terminator, wore a Luminor Marina in the film Eraser.
The Radiomir comes without crown protection. The watch was Panerai's first, and it has been a part of their product palette since 1. Officine Panerai - the company's full name - originally developed the watch for the Italian military. The 4. 7 mm case calls the Rolex Oyster to mind, as it was based on this watch. Today, Panerai divides their watches into four collections: Radiomir, Radiomir 1. Luminor, and Luminor 1. The 1. 94. 0 and 1.
The manufacturer also offers chronographs, watches with three hands and a second time zone, manual and automatic calibers, and tourbillons. Richemont took over Panerai in 1.
Swiss town of Neuch. This consistency has undoubtedly contributed to the company's present- day success and large fan base. Fans, nicknamed Paneristi, swear by these sturdy stainless steel watches with easy- to- read dials. The circular- shaped cases have changed as little as the round, Arabic numerals. The diving watches are designed with functionality at the forefront - a necessity, as they had to meet the demands of Italian combat divers from the 3.
Home » News » The Background of the Panerai Watch. Hands-on review & original photos from SIHH 2017 of the 42mm Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic watches with price & specs.
Today, the watches still benefit from their pragmatic origins. The black dials, especially bright numbers and hands, as well as the striking crown- protecting bridge, all relate to the needs of the military. In the meantime, these characteristics have become defining features of Panerai timepieces. In- House Calibers from Panerai. Since 2. 00. 5, Panerai has belonged to a select group of Swiss watch manufacturers that produce their own calibers. They had previously used calibers from other companies for their watches.
Most were from the manufacturer ETA, which belongs to the Swatch Group. However, Panerai also sourced calibers from specialists such as Zenith and Jaeger- Le. Coultre. The caliber Valjoux 7. Unitas 6. 49. 7 were also frequently used. The manual caliber P. Panerai, marked a new era with its introduction in 2. It contains 2. 47 individual components and has a diameter of 3.
The power reserve lasts eight days thanks to its three spring barrels in series, and the caliber features a linear power reserve indicator on the dial. The P. 2. 00. 2 has a balance frequency of 4 Hz, or 2. A/h). It also features a seconds reset device. When setting the time, the small seconds at the nine o'clock position is reset to zero. This enables the wearer to synchronize the seconds exactly with the correct time.
Additionally, the caliber has a GMT function with a 2. The date display is located at the three o'clock position. The P. 2. 00. 3 caliber is the automatic version of the P. The movement consists of 2.
This caliber is 1. P. 2. 00. 2 due to its centrally positioned rotor with Officine Panerai written on it. An oscillating weight winds the barrels' springs as it rotates in both directions. The P. 2. 00. 4 is meant for use in manual chronographs. Comprised of 3. 21 individual pieces, it has a thickness of 8. A single push- piece at the eight o'clock position controls a three step process of starting, stopping, and resetting to zero. Like the P. 2. 00.
It's the first chronograph caliber produced by Panerai and includes additional features such as a GMT function and date display. Tourbillon Caliber P. Panerai's mechanical, manual caliber P. The tourbillon is this 2.
Tourbillons were originally created in order to minimize deviations from the precise time. Abraham- Louis Breguet invented the mechanism at the beginning of the 1. He built the swing and escapement systems in a cage which revolves around itself once per minute. The constant rotation of the balance wheel and the escapement counteracts the negative effects of gravity. What makes the P. Furthermore, the cage requires only 3.
This construction, along with the increased speed, improves the compensation for deviations from the correct time. The power reserve lasts six days and is visible on the back side of the movement along with the tourbillon. This placement is unusual, as these complications are normally featured on the front side of movements.
Tradition Since 1. Panerai's history began in 1. Giovanni Panerai opened a small watchmaker's workshop and school. With his shop, Panerai wanted to revive the watchmaking art of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei. However, because all original documents from this time were destroyed in a flood in 1. What is known for sure, however, is the company's sign bore the words Orologeria Svizzera (Swiss watchmaking) at the beginning of the 2.
Beginning in 1. 92. Panerai's son, Leon Francesco, took over the business, joined later by his son, Guido.
Initially, the company imported Swiss watches. In order to keep import taxes as low as possible, the watches were delivered as individual pieces. Once the components reached a workshop, they were reassembled and adjusted by professionals who had trained at Panerai's watchmaking school. Orologeria Svizzera was the top watchmaker in Florence in the early 2. In addition to selling high- quality timepieces by manufacturers such as Jaeger- Le.
Coultre, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, and Rolex, the family business emerged as a wholesaler of watches and accessories. The second branch of the business focused on goldsmiths and other watchmakers.
Panerai's customers included prominent, rich Florentines, as well as the Italian royal family. Working Together with the Italian Marines. The Italian military has belonged to Panerai's clientele since 1. A letter from Giuseppe Panerai to the then- admiral of the defense forces confirms the starting year of their cooperation.
Panerai initially delivered pocket chronographs. Between 1. 91. 0 and 1. Panerai worked on developing fluorescent devices together with Lieutenant Carlo Ronconi.
Since the new luminous material was radium- based, it also glowed in the dark. The material withstood diverse tests by the marines, and it was soon in demand. The term Radiomir first appeared in 1. French patent. The word is a combination of the Italian words radio (radium) and mira (sight).
In the years following, Panerai delivered compasses, barometers, bathometers, underwater lamps, and other instruments to the Italian military. In 1. 93. 9, three years before the beginning of World War II, Panerai developed the first Radiomir prototype. After the Italian special commandos performed a series of tests on different underwater watches from various manufacturers and determined them to be unfit, they decided on the Panerai Radiomir. The watch proved its superior day and night performance.
Even back then, the watch's case measured in at a conspicuous diameter of 4. The dial featured a combination of Arabic and Roman numerals and a triangle was at the 1. Only ten of these watches with a water- resistant leather strap were produced. Starting in 1. 93. Radiomir became the robust companion of combat divers from the so- called Gamma group.
The serial model exhibited a few improvements. The dial now had Arabic numerals at the three, six, nine, and twelve o'clock positions.
The dial's build was also innovative. Like a sandwich, it was composed of two layers instead of the usual single metal disk. The lower disk was treated with Radiomir. The upper disk featured punched- out hour markers and numerals. The illuminating power of the watch was so strong that the divers had to regularly cover them for their own protection; they could have been discovered otherwise. Panerai reworked the case in the 1. They optimized the lugs so that they could better withstand excessive strain underwater, and instead of a conical crown, they used a cylindrical crown.
This bridge prevents water from penetrating the watch by pressing the crown tightly against the case. Furthermore, the bridge effectively protects against jolts and damages. This distinctive type of crown protection is still featured today on Luminor models, which are powered by the manual caliber Cort.
The luminous material Luminor, made from tritium, was brand new at the end of the 1. It replaced the radioactive material Radiomir. Panerai's Success. Large and distinctive timepieces define the luxury watch manufacturer Panerai. A consistent design and their crown- protecting bridge create a steadfast image that every watch enthusiast recognizes at first glance. The watches impress with their functionality and easy- to- read dials.
They were inspired by the demands of the military, and more recently, action stars such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have helped the watches achieve cult status. In 1. 99. 7, the company received new financial resources after being adopted by the Richemont Group. With the help of these funds, the doors were opened to new marketing and development possibilities that have led to their first calibers produced in- house. Today, the Radiomir and Luminor models are no longer pure military watches: They're beloved by city dwellers, creative minds, star cooks, and managers of all kinds.
The Complete History Of Panerai. The Complete History Of. PANERAIThe World's First Professional Diving Watch. Preface. I originally published this Panerai history story on Jake's Rolex World, years ago, and I wanted to add it to Jake's Panerai World–where it ideally belongs. When I wrote this story, I was completely overwhelmed with trying to put together many of the mysterious Panerai history puzzle pieces. Out of all the stories I have researched, and I have researched many, the Panerai story is unusually shrouded in mystery and intrigue, and it seems to never end.
Like any good mystery, when you solve one mystery, it presents you with an additional mystery. My Panerai history story includes many exclusive documents that were first published as part of this story, and it includes many photos, documents and details you won't find anywhere else. In the last couple of years, I have learned so much more about the history of Panerai, and in the future–as time permits–I plan to significantly overhaul this story to make it better, by making it more thorough, detailed and cohesive. Rolex made all the original Panerai watches from the later 1.
Panerai History story is part 3 of my 1. The Complete History Of The Rolex Submariner & SEA- DWELLER: Rolex's Conquest Of The Ocean. If you are interested in learning more about Rolex's diving watch history click the link above, otherwise enjoy this story, and I also included the table of contents for the above mentioned story at the end of this story. The Complete History Of. The Rolex Submariner & SEA- DWELLERRolex's Conquest Of The Ocean. Chapter 3: Panerai & The Italian Royal Navy. The First Professional Rolex Diving Watch.
Panerai has a fascinating and colorful history which is woven in with the history of Rolex as well as with the Royal Italian Navy, the German Kampfschwimmer's and the Egyptian Army. Rolex and Panerai are thought by many as being distant cousins, but as we will learn, they are much more like brothers: In 1. Giovanni Panerai (1. Florence, Italy which sold high- quality pocket watches. In 1. 86. 4 Guido Panerai & Figlio was established in Florence and specialized in mechanical engineering and designing and producing high quality equipment for the Italian Navy. This is the company that would one day become Officine Panerai.
In the early 2. 0th Century the Orologeria Svizzera was established and grew beyond just being a watch retailer. The Orologeria Svizzera sold tools and accessories for precision engineering and also contained a repair shop for watches and clocks as well as the first watchmaking school in Florence, Italy. In 1. 91. 5 Guido Panerai developed and patented a process for creating luminous markings for equipment made for the Italian Navy, which he called Radiomir. It is likely Guido Panerai had no idea his Radiomir was extremely dangerous and highly toxic since it was based upon Radium which is one of the most radioactive chemical elements known to mankind.
Radiums atomic number is 8. Ra. Radium is more than 1 Million times more radioactive than the same mass of uranium and it has a half- life of 1. Since radium played such and important role in illuminating the first wrist watches in the dark, we must explore its essence. Watches that glow in the dark today use a process named Luminova which is a phosphorescent process, which means the material absorbs light energy, stores it, and emanates it until it runs out–kind of like a rechargeable flashlight, or perhaps and even better analogy would be glow- in- the- dark stars you adhere to the ceiling in a child's bedroom. All forms or light are essentially forms of energy. If you examine a standard soft white incandescent light bulb, you will notice it produces light based upon heat output–same with a campfire or kerosene lantern.
Phosphorescence and fluorescence light sources such as glow- in- the- dark stars, TV or compact fluorescent light bulbs produce light by reacting to radiation energy. These methods adhere to the same fundamental principle that an external energy source excites atoms, thus causing the release of visual light known as photons. The original watches . Radium was used by Guido Panerai as the essential part of his .
Radiomir was originally used on instrument dials for ships and artillery targeting equipment which was thought–at the time–to be of great benefit since it did not require and electrical source of energy. In order to understand Radium and its effect on the watch industry we must examine radium in more detail. Marie Curie. The Discovery Of Radium. Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so we may fear less. Marie Curie not only discovered radioactivity, but also coined the term.
Madame Curie as she was commonly referred to, was born in Poland in 1. Nobel Prizes. 1n 1.
Maria was 2. 4 years old she moved to Paris to attend the University of Paris where she attained her higher degrees and performed her history changing scientific experiments. Marie was married to Pierre Curie who was a Nobel co- laureate of hers and her daughter, Irene Joliot- Curie and son- in- law Frederic Joliot- Curie were also Nobel prize winners. Imagine what dinner conversation must have been like in the Curie household!!! Pierre & Marie Currie As A Young Couple In Paris.
Marie Curie amazingly discovered two different element on the periodic table of elements which were polonium and and radium. She named polonium after her country of birth–Poland.
Marie was a scientific pioneer and she pioneered the field of radiation therapy which used radioactive isotopes to treat and kill cancer cells. Marie and her husband Piere (pictured above) discovered radium in 1. North Bohemia region in the former Czech Republic. The Curie's were studying pitchblende and noticed once they removed the uranium from the pitchblende the remaining material was still highly radioactive.
Next, they separated out a radioactive mixture consisting primarily of barium which gave off a bright green flame color which had never been documented. The Curie's shared their amazing discovery with the world for the first time at the French Academy Of Sciences on December 2.
In 1. 91. 0 Curie and Andre- Louis Debierne isolated radium as a pure metal through a process of electrolysis of pure radium chloride solution that used a mercury cathode and distilling in an atmosphere of hydrogen gas. Unfortunately, years later, Radium exposure was blamed for Madame Curies premature death. Radium is an alkaline earth metal that is silvery white metallic looking and when it was first used for creating self- luminous paint for watches, aircraft switches, clocks and instrument dials it was not known that it was highly radioactive and deadly. In 1. 91. 5 when Guido Panerai applied for his patent application for Radiomir, he obviously had no idea how deadly and toxic Radium was.
Nobody knows for certain how many watch dial painters who used their lips to shape camel haired paintbrushes died from radiation poisoning. At the minimum it is in the hundreds, but more than likely in the thousands–internationally. Essentially the radium would get stored in their bones where it would get converted to calcium and replace bone marrow and kill them. Radium was used as late as the 1. Tritium is also potentially dangerous if ingested, but it replaced radium.
Today, luminova has replaced both. Luminova is not radioactive and thus it is safe.
The Radium Girls. There is a famous piece of American history typically referred to as . The Radium Girls were a group of female factory workers who experienced radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with glow- in- the- dark radium- based- paint in Orange, New Jersey in the U. S. A. The Radium Girls were told the paint was harmless. They however ingested deadly amounts of radium when they would lick their camel hair paintbrushes to sharpen the tip.
The radium girls thought the glow- in- the- dark radium paint was fun, so they would paint their fingernails with the radium paint and even use it as makeup or put it on their teeth. Then they started dropping like flies. Five of the radium girls sued their employer in a court case which established the right of individual workers who contract occupational diseases to sue their employer. Female employees at the U. S. Radium Corporation in 1. From 1. 91. 7 to 1.
U. S. Radium Corporation was engaged in the process of extracting radium from carnoite ore to produce luminous paints which were marketed under the . Radium was a defense contractor and major supplier of radioluminescent watches to the U.
S. Radium Corporation's plant in Orange, New Jersey employed over a hundred women to paint radium glow- in- the- dark paint on watch dials and other various instrument panels. The going pay rate for painting 2. Management knew the paint was very dangerous but they did nothing to protect the employees. After tremendous difficulty the Radium Girls won the lawsuit which set a significant precedent in American labor law. It is profound to note radium was used as an ingredient in some foods for taste and as a preservative. It was even used as an additive in toothpaste, hair creams, and was even put in some foods as a curative agent. The first Panerai watches made by Rolex for Panerai had the Panerai Radiomir designation on the dial and these radioactive watches were produced up until 1.
How Radium Paint Glows. When zinc sulfide is mixed into paint with radium, the zinc sulfide emits light when it is struck by the radioactive particles from the radium. Over time the zinc sulfide . This typically leads unsuspecting wearers to think the paint is no longer radioactive, while it is still almost just as radioactive as the day it was made!!! Ironically, it is still unsafe to wear these old Panerai watches because they still emit an unsafe level of radioactivity as we see in the two photos below that were taken by Philippe, of a geiger counter measuring the current level of radioactivity being emitted by the radium.
Panerai Radiomir, The WWII “Dive” Watch – NUS Horology Club. By Chia Wesley“Man only has to sink beneath the surface and he is free.”Many people know of the name Panerai, it being famous for its uniquely large black face and thick brown leather straps.
Some may have even heard of the story behind Panerai’s revival back in the 9. Sylvester Stallone. Well read on and find out just how far back this famous watch actually goes and its place in military history, with some of its most famous adventures taking place during World War II.
So stay tuned and lets debunk some myths and learn some cool facts. Humble Beginnings Panerai was first founded in 1. Officine Panerai, a name which rose to pop culture prominence just two decades ago. Panerai was the brainchild of watchmaker Giovanni Panerai, with the first shop being tucked away along the streets of Florence. In later years, the shop would be handed down to Guido Panerai, Giovanni’s grandson, and relocated to the Piazza San Giovanni, where it would don the name “Orologeria Svizzera”, as it entered the dawn of the twentieth century. Giovanni Panerai opens his watchmaker’s shop on Ponte alle Grazie in Florence. The history of Panerai begins here.
Cr: Panerai. The First Military- Grade Dive Watch Fast forward a couple of decades, and we arrive at the onset of World War II. Having been contracted as the official supplier of watches to the Regia Marina (The Royal Italian Navy), Panerai now faced the challenge of building a watch that would meet the needs of the highly adept Italian Frogmen, professional divers who would conduct their operations in the dead of night, under the cover of a moonless night, deep into enemy territory.
Years earlier, Panerai had filed a patent for Radiomir (which would later be used to refer to various Panerai models), a radium- based powder that gives luminosity to the dials of sighting instruments and devices. Little did Guido know that radium was an extremely radioactive and toxic material (more than 1 million times more radioactive than the same mass of uranium). Officine Panerai files the Radiomir patent. Cr: Panerai. The lume produced by the original Radiomir Radium dial. Radium is a highly toxic radioactive material (1 million times more radioactive than Uranium) Cr: rolexblog. Panerai knew that for the watch to make the cut, it had to embody three qualities: As large as possible a face to optimise visibility, visibility in the darkest waters, and last but most importantly, it had to be waterproof.
Armed with the Radiomir patent, Panerai approached Rolex (who had earlier designed the Submariner) to aid in producing such a technological marvel. Together, Rolex and Panerai birthed what would be the first military- grade dive watch of its kind: sporting a large, cushion- shaped steel Rolex case (4. This watch would also run on a Rolex- made movement. A further innovation that improves underwater visibility relates to the numbering of the dial, which has just 4 large Arabic numerals at the cardinal points and a series of indices, hour and minute hands, but without a small seconds hand. Cr: rolexblog. The Radiomir Prototype with the California Dial. Cr: Panerai. Frogmen’s Watch Once completed, Panerai produced some 3.
Marina Militare (Italian Navy), over the period of 1. In 1. 94. 0 when Italy declared war on the United Kingdom and France, it stood as the 4th largest Navy in the world.
At the time the war efforts were led by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who declared the Mediterranean Sea “Mare Nostrum” or “Our Sea” (Panerai would later dedicate one of its watches as the “Mare Nostrum” model), as he believed that whosoever controlled the Mediterranean would control the balance of power in Europe. WWII Divers calibrating their Panerai timepieces prior to a mission.
Cr: rolexblog. An Italian Frogmen moving in for a dive. On his right wrist is a Panerai. Cr: rolexblog. The Mare Nostrum or “Our Sea” Cr: Panerai.
The Italian Navy, under Mussolini had a strong and innovative program with their Frogmen who were professional divers. He would also equip these Frogmen with specialized SLC Torpedo, making them an elite naval sabotage unit of the Regia Marina. The SLC Torpedo was a two- man underwater assault vehicle that was typically launched from a submarine, equipped with 3. It was nicknamed “the Pig” for its lack of maneuverability and was the Italian Navy’s secret weapon. The Pig could go 3. Most famously, Frogmen, donning standard issue Panerai Radiomirs, used these SLCs to cut explosive metal nets set up by the British in Alexandria, Egypt, to block off incoming torpedoes. This allowed the Frogmen to plant explosive charges and destroy three major British ships that guarded the area, redefining the naval balance of power in Africa.
The Pig, the Marina Militare’s deadliest weapon. Cr: rolexblog. Frogmen using the Pig for covert underwater operations. Cr: rolexblog. Italian Frogmen cutting metal nets set up by the British to block off incoming torpedoes. Cr: Panerai. Panerai, a Revival. In the years to follow, the company ceased to provide watches to the Marina Militare, as they were neither cost- effective nor met the naval specifications. It then moved to launch its products to the civilian market. It was then that actor Sylvester Stallone spotted and bought a Panerai Luminor (Luminor was a luminous substance later used to replace the toxic Radiomir) in a jewellers in Rome in 1.
Daylight. Stallone later ordered a small batch of such watches with his signature on the case back, called Slytech, offering some as gifts to friends. This hugely influenced the resurrection of the brand. The brand’s rising popularity caught the attention of Richemont, which acquired Officine Panerai in 1. Panerai was then rebranded as a luxury watch and made its comeback into pop culture. This has not stopped vintage watch collectors from acquiring some of the earlier Radiomirs, with only one “2. Noticeably, the “3. Rolex dial, also called the “California Dial”, half with Arabic and half with Roman indices.
Sylvester Stallone in the movie Daylight, sporting a Panerai Slytech Daylight Submersible (PAM0. Stallone in the movie Rambo sporting a Panerai PVD Luminor Marina Militare (PAM0.
Stallone in The Expendables sporting a Panerai Luminor 1. Regatta Raggrapante (PAM0. Panerai 2. 53. 3 Cr: rolexblog.
Panerai 3. 64. 6 Cr: rolexblog. That’s a wrap! With that I conclude this week’s edition of Legacy Timepieces, with the Panerai Radiomir, more famously known as the WWII “Dive” watch. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series so far, and that you’ve learnt something new about the history of watches and its place in time.
Stay tuned as I bring you on a journey through time to uncover more about the fascinating world of horological history. W // Keep watching for more.