Beginning this summer, Panerai will unveil a series of historical exhibitions in eight of its boutiques worldwide. From Tokyo to New York, the Florentine luxury watchmaker will display a selection of unique historical timepieces that best represent a vital pillar of the brand: heritage. Clients in the boutiques will discover examples of high creativity and design developed for decades by the Laboratorio di Idee. When observing these watches, it will be apparent that innovation and tradition go hand in hand at Panerai, as many original features are still present in today’s instruments.
In Tokyo’s Ginza store, the brand will exhibit a very rare PAM046 Radiomir GMT Alarm, the first Panerai watch featuring a 40mm case, a size that is smaller than that of most models and replicated in the Luminor Due range. Then, moving to Shanghai K11, the focus is the chronograph, known as the ultimate precision and performance tool, and a complication that set Panerai apart beginning in the 1940s. Here, clients will discover the historic PAM047 Radiomir Chrono SplitSeconds featuring the flyback function, represented by the Luminor Chrono Flyback 44mm PAM00524 and the Luminor Luna Rossa Chrono Flyback 44mm PAM01037.
Visitors will find more evidence of steadfast tradition at Singapore’s ION Orchard. The pioneering spirit and tireless efforts in the R&D of new materials are most evident in the PAM072 Luminor Chrono – 40mm, conceived in 2000 and crafted using titanium instead of the more common steel. The timepiece represents Panerai’s first effort to more toward sustainable watchmaking. In the Panerai Milan Montenapoleone flagship store a sophisticated chronograph dating to 1999, PAM045 Luminor Chrono 2000 – 40mm, features an oscillating weight made of solid 18-karat gold, one of the oldest and most sustainable elements.
London Bond Street is the only other European flagship store that will present this historical collection. The array includes the first Panerai Submersible watch created after Richemont acquired the brand, the PAM024 Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio, whose signature rotating bezel was introduced in 1956 with L’Egiziano for the Egyptian Navy. The Maison introduced new features to its watches when the underwater breathing apparatus used by divers began to use complex air mixtures rather than pure oxygen, requiring professional diving watches to precisely detect the amount of time elapsed during the immersions.
The PAM024 Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio represents an exceptional example of a key feature of Panerai watches, the power reserve function, which debuted in the 1950s with the introduction of the impressive Angelus SF240 movement. It will be on display at the Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive store. Beyond California, the US leg of the exhibition will include stops in New York’s Hudson Yards and the Miami Design District. The locations will share the same assortment of historical watches, most notably the PAM051 Luminor Marina Automatic, one of the first models produced by Vendome with a white dial; the watch was modeled after the limited edition Sly-tech series first made by Officine Panerai Firenze in 1986.
The exhibition also includes a 1998 Luminor PAM40 in titanium, an example of the Panerai focus on novel materials. The ingenuity of the “Laboratorio d’Idee” guides the Florentine brand. Its visionary approach to innovative materials has developed many exclusive solutions, of which Ceramic, Composite and Carbotech are only a few. The same pioneering spirit advances the sustainability goals that will be the direction that Panerai pursues. As the brand develops the next generation of instruments, it builds an environmentally responsible future based on a legendary and unique history.