Panerai is a watch brand that is of Italian origin. It is currently owned by a Swiss company called "Richemont International SA. It was in 1860 when the company was founded by Giovanni Panerai back in Florence. Soon, the company began supplying to the Royal Italian Navy. The company is well-known for its Luminor and Radiomir watches that were used by Italian commando divers.

From 1938 to 1993, Panerai produced and supplied diving instruments and around 300 watches to Italy's Marina Militare. After they ceased to produce such items for Marina Militare, they began producing watches for public consumption. Some of the models included Mare Nostrum chronograph, Luminor, and Luminor Marina. However, Paneri only gained popularity with the help of actor Sylvester Stallone. Stallone bought himself a Panerai Luminor watch during his trip to Rome in 1995. He became a fan of the brand and requested the company to design him a special edition watch called Submersible which he used while shooting his film entitled "Daylight." He also requested an edition of the same watch but with a white dial. This special edition watch was called "Daylight." Stallone also requested for a re-edition of the model Mare Nostrum which was personalized for him. He also ordered several Panerai watches as gifts for his friends that included actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Panerai made a line of watches for Stallone called “Slytech." All of these watches had an engraved signature of Stallone on the back. As a result, Panerai watches have gained more popularity since then.

It was in 1997 when Richemont took over to manage the company. Panerai also introduced large watches, similar to that of IWC, Audermars Piguet, and Swatch. Currently, the brand has 4 major lines of their watches. These are Historic, Contemporary, Special Editions, and Manifattura. Every year, Panerai manufactures Special Edition Watches. Just like in 2006, the company issued a special edition watch called "1936 California Dial Radiomir," which was actually a reissue of their very first Panerai model. Only 1936 watches of this model were manufactured that year. Aside from these lines of watches, Panerai also designs and manufactures watches that are Ferrari inspired. Currently, Panerai is the official Ferrari timekeeper. This Ferrari line has 3 categories: Grandturismo, Scuderia, and Special Editions. These Panerai Ferrari watches cost from $5300 to $26500.

Up to now, Panerai still continues to manufacture professional instruments. Such instruments include marine chronometer, curvimeter, depth gauge, barometer, hygro-thermometer, and baro-hygro-thermometer.

For watch enthusiasts, Panerai watches are considered as collectibles. The company manufactures very limited number of watches, which is the main reason for its scarcity. In fact, retailers of Panerai watches only receive very few pieces of these watches every year that is why buyers usually have to request first to be included in waiting lists before they can actually purchase these watches. Currently, Panerai only have 6 boutiques located in 6 different cities. Because of this, most of their watches are being sold instead by authorized distributors worldwide.