Panerai was founded in 1860 by the watchmaker who created Radiomir - the first substance to give luminosity to dials. Renowned for its complex in-house movements, the storied brand designs highly functional timepieces that are made to exacting specifications and recall vintage diving instruments. Explore our Panerai collection.
As far back as 1916, Panerai pioneered dial luminescence with a patented radium-based powder called Radiomir, the excellent underwater adhesive qualities of which made it the obvious marking paste for its watch dials. A new, rather less radioactive substance, Luminor, superseded Radiomir in 1949 based on tritium, a hydrogen isotope; this too was replaced by safer alternatives in the 1990s.
The P.2005 Tourbillon
Panerai produced its first tourbillon movement, the P.2005, in 2007. Where the tourbillon’s ticking escapement assembly would usually rotate 360º every minute on an axis parallel to that of the balance wheel, the so-called P.2005 spins its tourbillon cage perpendicular to it, every 30 seconds.
Carbon Fibre 2.0
Panerai’s recent Carbotech models have pioneered a first for watchmaking: a case made from a composite of carbon fibre sheets compressed with a high-end polymer, PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone), which is even stronger and more durable than carbon alone.
