If you’re planning a trip to Florence this spring, you might be going for the art – Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus or Titian’s Venus of Urbino, to name just a few from the long list of celebrated works housed in the city. But if you’re an art-loving horophile, there’s another sight you might want to discover: the celebrated Panerai boutique on Piazza San Giovanni, right opposite the historic Duomo.
Panerai has occupied the premises since the 1920s when the founding family ran it as a watchmaking workshop and retail outlet for Swiss watches of multiple makes. It was also the place where Panerai developed the original “Radiomir” watches commissioned by the Italian Navy during the late 1930s – giant, 47mm diameter timepieces featuring Rolex movements and cases and, from 1939, Panerai’s special “sandwich” dial design.
The latter comprised a top layer with cut-out indexes, a middle disc made from plexiglass and a lower layer coated with luminous material that shone through the cut-outs to enable the watch to be read in gloomy conditions, most specifically by military divers. Original examples of these Reference 3646 models are highly collectable and, despite numerous variations on the theme having been created by the modern-day brand, the basic design is still regarded as “signature Panerai”.
So Paneristi (as enthusiasts are called) have welcomed this month’s arrival of the Luminor Tre Giorni, a brand-new model that looks just like the watches from 85 years ago. In defiance of the perceived return to smaller case sizes, the Tre Giorni boasts an authentic, 47mm diameter and is made from patinated steel to make it look more like an original. The grey and black “grainy” dial is of correct sandwich construction, but gets its glow from modern Super-LumiNova material rather than radioactive Radiomir.
Behind the dial lies Panerai’s P.3000 hand-wound movement that’s visible through the transparent caseback and, thanks to twin winding barrels, will keep running for three days on the trot. A vintage-look calfskin strap completes the picture – and, of course, the Luminor Tre Giorni is water resistant down to 100 metres, making it more than suitable for a dip should you find yourself hot and bothered after all that sightseeing.
The Panerai Luminor Tre Giorni is available only from Panerai boutiques and costs £9,100
Simon de Burton is a journalist and author who writes for the FT’s How to Spend It, British GQ and Boat International, among other publications
