Panerai Celebrates 100 Years in Florence with Two Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni Editions

Panerai is celebrating a century at its historic Florence boutique on Piazza San Giovanni with two new limited-edition watches that look back to the brand’s Florentine origins and military heritage. The Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni PAM01734 and PAM01794 draw inspiration from a rare 1960s prototype of the reference 6152/1, combining characteristic vintage details with the robustness and eight-day power reserve of Panerai’s contemporary P.5000 manufacture caliber. One is presented in Platinumtech, while the other takes a more utilitarian approach in stainless steel.

The anniversary has particular significance for Panerai. The company’s roots in Florence date back to 1860, when Giovanni Panerai opened a watch shop and workshop at Ponte alle Grazie, which also housed the city’s first watchmaking school. After several relocations, the family business established itself in Piazza San Giovanni in 1926 under the name “Orologeria Svizzera.” The boutique, located within the Archbishop’s Palace and overlooking Florence Cathedral, became an important center for the Panerai family’s watchmaking activities and would play a formative role in the development of the company.

A century later, the historic address remains closely connected to Panerai’s identity. To mark the anniversary, the Maison will also present “Immersion,” a contemporary exhibition at Florence’s Museo Marino Marini from September 10 to 19, 2026. The two new Luminor Firenze models will take center stage at the exhibition, alongside the historical prototype that provided their inspiration.

From Florence to the Italian Navy

The history of the Florence boutique is inseparable from Panerai’s development as a specialist in professional instruments. In the early twentieth century, the family’s work increasingly focused on technical solutions for demanding applications, eventually leading to its collaboration with the Italian Navy. This partnership would shape Panerai’s identity for decades, particularly in the fields of water resistance, luminescence and robust design. The watches created for Italian Navy personnel remained classified for many years. It was not until 1993 that Panerai presented its watches to the civilian public, bringing elements developed for military use into a broader collection. The Luminor, with its distinctive crown-protecting bridge, became one of the most recognizable expressions of this heritage. 

The new Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni models revisit this history from a distinctly Florentine perspective. Their design is based on a particularly rare 6152/1 prototype from the 1960s, preserved in a private collection and authenticated by Panerai. The watch is notable for its “Panerai Firenze” inscription on the dial and for a distinctive version of the crown-protecting bridge, whose inner sides feature parallel grooves. The latter detail was originally explored as a functional solution intended to make the crown easier to operate when winding the hand-wound movement, including under demanding conditions and while wearing gloves. This detail has been preserved on the Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni PAM01734. 

Vintage Inspirations, Contemporary Dimensions

Both new references translate the 47mm dimensions of the historical prototype into a more wearable 44mm format. They retain the characteristic cushion-shaped case with its strong, sculptural geometry, flat crown-protecting bridge and combination of polished and brushed surfaces. A gently domed sapphire crystal further recalls the appearance of the Perspex crystals used on Luminor watches during the 1960s.

The two watches differ most visibly in their choice of materials and colors. The PAM01734 is housed in Panerai’s Platinumtech, a proprietary platinum alloy consisting of 95 percent pure platinum and treated for increased hardness and scratch resistance. Its green circular-brushed sandwich dial provides a rich contrast to the precious metal case, while the vintage-inspired pencil hands feature a gold-effect finish.

The PAM01794 takes a more understated route with a polished stainless-steel case, a dark circular-brushed sandwich dial and blue-finished hands. The blue coloration is itself a nod to historical Panerai watches, where blued components had practical advantages in terms of corrosion resistance and legibility. Here, the effect is recreated through a controlled oxidation process.

Both dials dispense with a date display or additional complications, concentrating instead on hours and minutes. Cut-out numerals and hour markers are filled with Superluminova, while the “Panerai Firenze” signature appears in a discreet tone-on-tone treatment. The circular brushing of the dial creates subtle variations across the surface, allowing the color and texture to respond noticeably to changing light.

Eight Days of Power

Inside both watches is Panerai’s hand-wound P.5000 manufacture caliber. Its two barrels provide an eight-day power reserve, while a variable-inertia balance and full balance bridge contribute to stability. The movement comprises 113 components, 21 jewels and operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour. The eight-day reserve also echoes Panerai’s historical use of the Angelus SF 240 in the 1950s, when extended autonomy helped reduce the need for frequent winding in watches made for Italian Navy divers, helping to protect the crown assembly and maintain water-tightness. Over time, the eight-day configuration became one of the most recognizable elements of Panerai watchmaking and a key part of its identity. PAM01734 and PAM01794 continue this legacy: a manual caliber that once fully wound at the start of the week can run until the following week without intervention, echoing the operational logic of the historic instruments while responding to contemporary use. 

Differences in Water Resistance

The two editions take different approaches to water resistance. The Platinumtech PAM01734 is water-resistant to 10 bar, despite its open sapphire caseback. The stainless-steel PAM01794, meanwhile, features a closed case back engraved with the Florence boutique and achieves a water resistance of 30 bar. The PAM01734 is limited to 100 pieces, while the PAM01794 is produced in an edition of 1,000. Both come with Tuscan calf-leather straps embossed with the Florentine lily, another direct reference to the watches’ connection with the city. The platinum model is supplied with a black leather strap and an additional green rubber strap, while the steel version comes on dark brown leather with a second black rubber strap.

Both watches are presented in mahogany boxes with dovetail corner joints and a metal plaque depicting the historic entrance of Panerai’s Florence boutique. The Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni PAM01734 retails for $56,400 while the Luminor Firenze 8 Giorni PAM01794 is priced at $11,000. They will be available starting this month.