Officine Panerai is the main partner of “O’Clock – time design, design time”, the exhibition that analyses the relationship between the concept of time and design, on display at Milan Triennale from 11th October 2011 to 8th January 2012.
The works on show which have been specially setup by Patricia Urquiola - describe the way in which some 80 international designers and artists have interpreted or represented one of the fundamental themes of our culture, that of time.
From left to right: PAM00373, PAM00305, PAM422.
Among the Panerai watches on display, two extremely rare historical models - a Radiomir from 1938, the year in which the watch was produced for the first time, and a Luminor from the 1940s - show how these icons were born with all the features they still possess today and how, in fact, the second model represents an evolution of the first – an evolution created to offer even better performance in terms of water resistance (due to loops welded to the case and especially to the device that protects the crown) and legibility.
Each of the models on display shows one or more of the main features of the Panerai design: the essential lines of the Radiomir and Luminor cases, the large dimensions to ensure maximum readability in all environmental conditions, the clarity of the dials with their diverse aesthetic designs, the details that respond to specific needs such as the bezel of the Luminor Submersible with a graduated scale to calculate diving times, the linear power reserve indicator, and the small seconds dial at nine o’clock. Each of these features, all instantly recognisable by watch connoisseurs, has helped make Panerai watches an icon of time design. All the models on show are driven by movements made entirely at the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel.
