The Beginning of Panerai

In the beginning Panerai was two companies. In 1860 watchmaker Giovanni Panerai opened a Swiss watch shop in Florence (handling brands such as Rolex Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin) and there was also a company called ‘Guido Panerai & Figlio’ that supplied precision instruments and diving equipment to the Royal Italian Navy.

©monochrome

The Royal Italian Navy which had done business with this company for decades demanded nighttime readability for combat equipment dials such as sights and Giovanni’s grandson Guido Panerai developed a radium-based powder together with Major Carlo Ronconi. This was Radiomir the first of many patents for Panerai.

A Shining Name

Because Panerai’s first wristwatch created in 1935 for the Royal Italian Navy’s underwater operations used this luminous material it was named Radiomir. However Radiomir was not perfect. There were limitations in the water resistance of the screw-down crown and the dangers of the radium-based luminous material.

Cushion-shaped case wire lugs and sandwich dial Panerai’s first wristwatch Radiomir © Teddy

In 1949 Panerai solved these problems by introducing a new tritium-based luminous material called Luminor and in the early 1950s a crescent-shaped safety lock crown protector. The Luminor watch Panerai’s masterpiece that gave birth to countless Paneristi was born. The unique crown guard of the Luminor was patented in 1956.

Luminor Luminor Marina
and Luminor 1950

It was about 40 years later that Panerai released commercial watches. The collection included the Luminor and Luminor Marina with a revolutionary reduced case size of 44mm.

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger © Teddy

Sylvester Stallone and his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger famously fell in love with the Luminor watch around this time. Whether it was a meticulously calculated star marketing strategy or not does it really matter now. The Luminor had every reason to attract a strong fan base as a cult watch with robust masculinity and a unique history.
The 1993 Luminor featured a modern reinterpretation of the 1950s original by Alessandro Bettarini who was Panerai’s head of engineering. The crown guard and the name Luminor were retained. It remains one of Panerai’s main models to this day.

Sylvester Stallone wearing the Panerai Luminor 5218-201/a ⓒ Hodinkee

The Luminor Marina is similar to the Luminor but the biggest difference is the small seconds at 9 o’clock on the dial (of course not all Luminors with a small seconds at 9 are Marinas but all Marinas have a small seconds at 9). The watch Sylvester Stallone wore in the movie is also known to be a Luminor Marina.

From left Luminor PAM 127 Luminor 1950 © Sothebys, @PANERAI

In 2002 the PAM 127 a special edition that restored the first Luminor watch of the 1950s Marina Militare 6152/1 was introduced. With a slightly different case design from the Luminor a domed glass and the ‘REG. T.M.’ engraving on the crown guard meaning ‘Registered TradeMark’ the PAM 127 faithfully followed the original reference and achieved great success becoming the foundation of the Luminor 1950 collection.

Luminor Marina PAM00001

44mm black Florence Boutique Edition

Luminor 1950 10 Days GMT Automatic Acciaio PAM00533

44mm black small seconds power reserve indicator

Luminor Due Luminor Quaranta

Recently Panerai has chosen to increase size options to attract more potential customers. This strategy was first applied to the Luminor which is more advantageous in terms of popularity than the Radiomir.

Panerai Luminor Due (38mm) / © Hodinkee

Panerai Luminor Quaranta (40mm) / © Everest

In 2016 the 38mm Luminor Due was newly introduced and in 2021 the Luminor Marina Quaranta expanded the lineup with a 40mm model. As a result the Luminor now offers a dense size lineup of 47mm 44mm 42mm 40mm and 38mm. Its unique charm and originality derived from history can now be enjoyed by all generations and genders.

In addition Panerai continues to release collectible pieces for hardcore enthusiasts alongside popular models. These are often restorations of famous references from the past. Many say this is the highlight of Panerai. Next time we will continue with stories about Panerai’s historic watches and models that stimulate the desire to collect.

Luminor Due PAM00926

38mm blue