Panerai Brings Military Chic to Civvie Street

Of course, the Milan-based company did have a few things going for it. Its military experience, developing everything from luminous instrument dials in 1910 to watches capable of going down to 1,000m in 1980, left it with a bank of technical expertise that would stand it in good stead on civvie street.

The need of divers and other naval officers for a watch that was tough, easily legible, water-resistant and with a strong power reserve also left its mark on the distinctive design of generations of Panerai. They were invariably built on the grand scale – they are almost the prototype of today’s “big watches” - with large Arabic numerals that could easily be made out in murky water or by a captain on a darkened bridge.

For the same reason – legibility – the classic Panerais had a strikingly simple design that separated them from the crowd and that, almost by chance, gave them a retro allure strong enough to survive even at a time when bling was seen as beautiful. That pre-1993 Panerais were first available only to Italian Navy officers also gave them the all-important cache’ of rarity. And when Sly Stallone lighted on them in 1995, ordering a series of limited editions, it gave them star power, (not to mention an inbuilt clientele among washed-up boxers, deranged cops and Vietnam vets).

All of which, well most of which, are strong cards for anyone looking to build a reputation for fashion or lifestyle watches. But Officine Panerai was after something else, namely props as a maker of genuinely high-quality, high-end timepieces. Under supremo Angelo Bonati, Panerai went for it by developing its own movements in-house. Starting in 2002 with the Calibre P.2002, which featured three winding spring barrels and an eight-day power reserve, Panerai developed four separate new movements, culminating in the marvelous P.2005 Tourbillon

This year, it outdid itself, releasing three variations on the new P.9000 calibre, to be used in the Manifattura, or hand-made, collection’s new Luminor 1950 models. The new P.9000s fill out the range, and confirm Panerai as one of the few watchmakers that both designs and makes almost all of its own components. In doing so, they may also have banished that credibility question for good.