Few watches are as comfortable kicking down a door as they are slipping under a dinner jacket—and for decades, Panerai has made a virtue of producing tough timepieces. But to celebrate the centenary of the boutique that helped define the brand, it’s proving that even a symbol of unapologetic brawn can acquire a little polish. Set within the Palazzo Arcivescovile on Piazza San Giovanni and overlooking the Duomo, Panerai’s Orologeria Svizzera boutique opened in 1926, laying the foundations of the brand as we know it today. Founder Giovanni Panerai had started his business 66 years earlier, but it was in this charming location—still in operation today—where the company housed its workshop and honed its reputation as a multibrand retailer, repairer, and master of precision timekeeping. That expertise would eventually propel Panerai from small Florentine shopkeeper to supplier of professional tool watches and instruments to the Italian Navy and, decades later, to a commercial brand..
