Officine Panerai: The Beginning
In 1860 in Florence, Italy a man named Giovanni Panerai Luminor Marina Replica would start an innovative watch shop. That shop is now a famous brand with a serious cult following. Unlike many other watch brands more humble beginnings, Officine Panerai began as a sales showroom, a repair shop, and the city’s first watchmaking school. During this time, they were a powerful seller of Swiss watches.
The Early 1900’s and the Luminor
On March 23, 1916 Panerai filed a patent for Luminor, a radium-based powder. This powder gives the Panerai Luminor Power Reserve Replica dials of sighting instruments and devices luminosity. Essentially, they have high visibility in the dark. This radium powder also had exceptional adhesion underwater, making it perfect for the Navy.
The Introduction of the Luminor
Luminor was a new, self-luminous paste that used a hydrogen isotope called Tritium to achieve its affect. After filing the patent on January 11, 1949, Panerai Manifattura Luminor Replica used the substances name to derive the name of their next model, the Luminor.
The original Luminor features a case with reinforced wire lugs that are created from the same block of steel as the rest of the case. It Panerai Luminor Chrono Replica also has a bridge to protect the crown and a wider, flatter bezel than the Radiomir. These original-style Luminor models are now the Luminor 1950.
In 1956, Panerai began working with the Egyptian Navy. They created a Radiomir-styled watch called the Egiziano. It features a huge case at 60mm and heightened water-resistance. It also had bezel markings to calculate immersion time. The crown-protecting bridge featured on the Luminor also makes an appearance on the Egiziano and becomes one of Panerai’s Perfect Replica Watches distinguishing features.