Officine Panerai In 1860, in Florence, Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897) set up a small workshop for precision mechanical instruments on the "Ponte alle Grazie". By 1870, the company had become an official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy. Giovanni's successor Guido Panerai (1873-1934) continued to develop high-precision instruments.
Named "Orologeria Svizzera" in the early 1900s, the company sold Rolex and Patek Philippe watches while also delivering optical and mechanical precision instruments to the Defense Ministry. Developing the business and extending the line of military products, the company continued as "Officine Panerai". Special products included luminous firing and aiming devices. Maria and Giuseppe continued their father's retail business while strengthening their position as suppliers to the Italian Navy. In 1935 the first wrist-worn depth gauges and compasses were developed, and in 1936/38, a "Radiomir" watch prototype was produced. 1943 saw the birth of the "Mare Nostrum" and for the first time a safety lever and bridge device was fitted to the "Radiomir". This was a revolutionary and distinctive design, which not only fitted the crown tightly against the case, but also allowed for winding the watch under water. A patent was granted in 1949 for the luminous material "Luminor"; another for the "Tight Seal Device" was filed in Italy on Nov. 26, 1956. (Ser. No. 624,234) and later in other countries. "Officine Panerai" continued to be a specialized manufacturer of military instruments.
Panerai & Rolex Officine Panerai of Florence were known for making precision instruments - with watches being an additional product line. It is likely that Panerai first turned to Rolex in the mid-1930's due to their history of making completely waterproof watches. Panerai had suffered from unsatisfactory waterproofing of their watches and the fitting of waterproof crowns made by Rolex was a logical step. Rolex agreed to supply Panerai with both the crowns and movements. The movement calibre 618 (16 ''') proved to be very satisfactory. In 1935, at the request of the Submariner Group of the Italian Navy, the permanent Commission studied a project for a special luminescent diver's wristwatch. The Commission suggested models available on the market, but none were satisfactory in terms of luminescence, water resistance and pressure. In March 1936, the Commission delivered a Radiomir wristwatch by Officine Panerai of Florence, which, after night and day testing at sea, turned out to be perfect. Ten examples of this model were immediately ordered and used during important manoeuvres, where they obtained excellent results. According to the Navy, the above events occurred in 1936, but experts and collectors believe that the first watches of this type appeared in 1938. Some illustrations of designs made by Panerai are dated 30 October 1938 and show a waterproof case containing an ordinary watch.
That same year, according to a well-known collector of military watches, another prototype was produced, but for presentation only; it bore a dodecagonal bezel with the inscription ?Officine Panerai Brevettato? and a transparent back showing the movement. Was it made in 1936 as the Navy says, or in 1938, as stated by numerous experts and the Officine Panerai? Both are probably right since, given the political-military situation at that time, Panerai, after having created the first prototype, may very well have suspended their research, and destroyed or set aside the designs, only to take up the project two years later by launching the actual production for the Navy, which required more watches. Thus, it could be that Panerai made a prototype in 1936, and actual production was launched two years later, with some modifications. We may therefore consider that the first model was produced in 1938. It was the large waterproof model we know today, but featured an anonymous black dial with luminescent Roman and Arabic numerals as well as indexes. The movement was a Cortébert ?ébauche?, signed Rolex, mechanical with manual winding, and the glass was in Perspex, similar to that of compasses and bathometers. The bracelet was a large leather belt which was greased before being fixed to the watch.
Throughout the 1940's and 1950's Rolex continued to be the main supplier of watch movements and cases to the Officine Panerai Company who would then fit their patented dials and crown guards, these watches bore the case references 6150 through 6155 and were fitted with either calibre A.196 or 16''' movements. Some of these cases were also retro fitted by Panerai with Angelus 8-day movements. After this period Panerai made watches entirely under their own name but their association with Rolex was not forgotten and in 1997 they reissued a replica version of the first Panerai of 1938, a limited edition of 60 pieces with a period Rolex movement. The combination of Panerai design and the use of the Rolex Watch Company movements, crowns, and Panerai designed cases from the earliest production models of their watches has ensured Officine Panerai's iconic status in the pantheon of classic vintage wristwatches