Aldo Italian Design

Blaquier pursues photo career while navigating travel and family
Who is Mrs. Nacho?
For More Aldo Italian Design Info Click On The Blue Links Below

220710429115 0 Aldo Italian Design
DELLI ALDO Brown ITALIAN DESIGN Shoes for Men Size 85
US $49.99
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
290499546821 0 Aldo Italian Design
D ALDO Mens Italian Design Dress Casual Shoes Loafers
US $34.95
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
290658819104 0 Aldo Italian Design
D ALDO Mens Italian Style Designer Fashion Boots Easy On Side Zipper
US $44.95
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
390387390059 0 Aldo Italian Design
D ALDO Gray Dragon Design On Toe Loafer Dress Casual Shoes Italian Style
US $34.85
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
180630858815 0 Aldo Italian Design
D ALDO Brown Dress Casual Designer Loafer Shoes Italian
US $34.95
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
180637705671 0 Aldo Italian Design
D ALDO Mens Italian Style Designer Dress Casual Shoes
US $34.95
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
180612800888 0 Aldo Italian Design
D ALDO MensTribal Design Loafer Shoes Italian Style NIB
US $34.95
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
180579625946 0 Aldo Italian Design
Mens D ALDO Italian Style White Designer Driving Shoes
US $34.95
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
220710428414 0 Aldo Italian Design
DELLI ALDO Brown ITALIAN DESIGN Shoes for Men Size 75
US $49.99
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
190637417684 0 Aldo Italian Design
D Aldo Designer Men Shoe Italian Style Black Size 85
US $24.99
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
190637346017 0 Aldo Italian Design
D Aldo Designer Men Shoe Italian Style Black Size 10
US $24.99
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design
190637334399 0 Aldo Italian Design
D Aldo Designer Men Shoe Italian Style Black Size 7
US $24.99
ebaygif Aldo Italian Design

In 1860 Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897) opened the first watchmaker's shop in the Italian city of Florence on the Ponte alle Grazie. Giovanni was in contact with some of the most prestigious and established of Swiss watch-makers, and so established what was to become a leading family run Italian watch manufacturer. Florence is still home to Panerai watches, and the following is a brief history.

Under the stewardship of Giovanni's grandson, Guido Panerai, the family business grew from strength to strength, and moved to the Piazza San Giovanni, where the boutique is still located today. In these early days of the company's history Panerai had already became the official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy and Italian Ministry of Defence, providing precision optical and mechanical instruments as well as wristwatches.

Bringing together the best of Swiss technology and Italian design, Panerai have over the years produced some exceptional and lasting timepieces. From the Radiomir, created for the commandos of the Italian Navy in 1936; the Luminor collection, created in 1950 and designed under commission for the Italian Navy; to the more contemporary Ferrari Collection, produced under license of Ferrari Spa by Panerai. Each of these shows technical innovation that was produced specifically for the model in question.

The Luminor, for example, has features specifically suited to conditions necessary for a military dive watch. The watch had a hand-wound mechanical movement that had an eight-day power reserve. This enabled the frequency of winding operations to be reduced. An innovative feature then because, the fewer winding operations meant a lower risk of water seepage when divers rewound their watches. This innovative feature of the 1950s is one that has been re-developed for use in more recent models.

Panerai has been at the forefront of a number of technical and design innovations for more than a century now. And the family business was not only interested in wristwatches, but also compasses, depth gauges, and torches. Over the decades a enormous collection of instruments, documents and photographs, all closely associated with the history of watch-making, has been accumulating and gathering dust in the original family-run Florentine boutique.

Recently this collection of artefacts and documents has been expertly collated, catalogued and curated to form the basis of the Panerai Historical Archive; This archive tells the history of watch-making like no other, and bears witness to the work of the Panerai family from the very first watchmaker's workshop opened in Florence over a hundred years ago.

In 2001 the second family boutique in the Piazza San Giovanni in Florence was radically restyled and relaunched under the name Officine Panerai. The name Orologeria Svizzera still appears on the shop door as a testament to the close links between Panerai watches and their Swiss origins. Besides being the flagship boutique for Panerai – it is here that the Panerai Archive is on display for all those interested in the history of watch-making to rediscover. Today, there are Panerai boutiques all around the world, from Shanghai to Buenos Aires, Los Angeles to Tokyo. Besides the current range of Panerai watches, these boutiques also exclusively carry Paneria's various special editions.

About the author of this article:
Thomas Dowson is freelance writer, writing here about luxury watches for The Watch Gallery, London, UK. Click here to find out more about Panerai watches.

Many thanks for reading our Aldo Italian Design article

Tagged with: