Officine Panerai

Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897), founder of the family business, opens the first watchmaker's shop in Florence on the Ponte alle Grazie and establishes contact with the most prestigious and longest established Swiss watch manufacturers.

Giovanni is succeeded by his son, Leon Francesco.

Guido Panerai (1873-1934), grandson of the founder, expands his grandfather's business and gives it new impetus, specializing in high precision mechanisms and becoming official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy.

At the turn of the century, the shop moves to the Piazza San Giovanni site in Florence, where the Panerai boutique can be found today, and the Orologeria Svizzera name, still visible today, appears on the shop door to underline the close link between the watches and their Swiss origin.
In this period, the first deliveries of precision optical and mechanical instruments are made to the Ministry of Defence.

The first experiments with luminous materials begin and a system is developed to make instrument dials and sighting and telescopic devices luminous. The luminescence is achieved using a mix of zinc sulphide and radium bromide given later the name Radiomir.
Inserted into tiny glass tubes to increase its resistance over time, this mix was the subject of patent applications by Guido Panerai in Italy and other countries.

The Royal Italian Navy employs the precision instruments supplied by Panerai during the First World War. The products delivered include luminous devices for sighting naval guns at night, timing mechanisms, depth gauges and mechanical calculators to launch torpedoes from MAS, high speed motor torpedo boats.

Guido Panerai's children, Giuseppe and Maria, continue developing their father's business. Maria is mainly concerned with running the Orologeria Svizzera shop, while Giuseppe devotes himself almost entirely to the company's business of supplying underwater instruments, torches, wrist compasses and wrist depth gauges to the Royal Italian Navy.
He can take credit for the creation of the famous Radiomir and Luminor watches.

Following disappointing tests carried out on the watches available at that time, the Royal Italian Navy asks Panerai to develop a watch able to withstand the extreme conditions it will be subjected to. A Radiomir prototype is submitted to the Command of the First Submarine Group and the watch passed all the tests with flying colours.