In 1860 the Florentine watchmaker Guido Panerai made precision pocket watches for the Royal Italian Navy, blending Swiss technology and Italian style.  He received many patents in the timekeeping field and well as for his optical systems.  In the 1930’s he provided the Royal Italian Navy with pocket watches and torpedo sights.

The Radiomir men’s watch was released in 1936 and named for the material used in the face that glows in the dark.  This beautiful cushion-shape style with its unique rung design connection between the strap and case has not changed much since its original design.

In 1993 Panerai offered its watches to the world with the Luminor men’s watch whose dial is composed of two superimposed layers.  The Luminor is guaranteed to 300 meters under water and has its own mechanical hand-wound movement with a transparent caseback.  The Luminor Marina is their 18K gold version, limited edition of 150 pieces.

The Luminor Blackseal watch, engraved with two Italian frogmen on a human torpedo, has a steel cover and the image is also on the dial. 

Richemont bought Panerai in 1997 and evolved the business adding new products to the line and increasing its market share.   Pure simplicity comes to mind in an elegantly-stated manner when you look at a Panerai watch, simply exquisite.