Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo 47mm

Originally a watchmaking studio and vocational school established by the eponymous Giovanni Panerai in Florence, Panerai persisted as a family business for much of the 20th century. In 1916, Giovanni’s grandson Guido developed and subsequently helped to patent the self-luminescent material known as “Radiomir” - the namesake for Panerai’s first and most enduring military dive watch.

By 1935, the founder’s great-grandson, Giuseppe Panerai, had begun testing various prototypes of the Radiomir diving watch - going so far as to collaborate with Rolex on the production of the now-historic Ref. 2533.