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We are pioneers at everything we do, and we work hard to keep it that way. Our pioneering spirit generates a contagious energy, which is what enables us to keep putting new ideas into practice.

Our strength lies in our formula: straight to the point and still personal. Fast and effective. Combining craftsmanship with flair.

There are few things that distract us. This approach enables us to create an environment in which our customers feel that we only have eyes for them. We are there for people who want to be seen.

Panerai, also known as “Officine Panerai”, is a brand on its own. While Panerai watches have been available to the public only since 1993, the brand has a long and rich history, mainly linked to the Royal Italian Navy. The brand started as a simple workshop created in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai, in Florence, Italy. His “officine” wasn’t only a shop and workshop for timepieces but was also as the city’s first watchmaking school. The main step in Panerai’s history will occur in 1916, after Guido Panerai (grandson of the founder) took over the family business and created “Radiomir”, a self-luminous material that allowed to see the time in the dark and underwater.

For some years already, Panerai was supplying the Royal Italian Navy with high precision instruments. Radiomir, a radium-based powder that gives luminosity to the dials, patented in 1916, will become a key element in Officine Panerai’s production. In 1936, on the eve of the Second World War, Panerai creates the first prototypes of the model now known as “Radiomir” for the frogman commandos of the First Submarine Group Command of the Royal Italian Navy. This large 46mm watch, with superior water resistance, featured a luminous dial and will be delivered as of 1938 to military forces – after several changes to the original concept, including the creation of the “sandwich dial”.

Multiple developments followed, all for military-issued watches only. In 1940, Panerai presents the Radiomir 1940, with reinforced lugs and a cushion-shaped case made with edges that are more pronounced on the side – a shape that will later become the brand’s hallmark. In 1943 will be developed another milestone watch, the chronograph “Mare Nostrum” for deck officers. In 1949, the brand launches a new luminous material named “Luminor”, this time based on tritium, which supersedes the radium-based paste. Coincidentally, the eponymous watch will be introduced, with the development of the trademark crown-protecting bridge – again, an element that will forge the brand’s DNA.

In 1972, the brand will be passed to engineer Dino Zei, after Giuseppe Panerai, son of Guido, dies. The brand still acts as a military supplier, with Italian Navy supply contracts long covered by military secrecy. The production is however now only focused on diving instruments, such as compasses and wrist depth gauges, as well as pressure compensation underwater torches.

It’s only in 1993 that Panerai will be launched to the public. Officine Panerai indeed presented a collection of three series of limited edition watches: the Luminor, the Luminor Marina and the Mare Nostrum, which draw inspiration from the historical models created for Second World War commandos. An important step in the brand’s history occurs in 1997, when the Vendôme Group, later to be named Richemont, will invest in Panerai and make available internationally and transforms it as one of the major players of the industry.

Since then, the brand has launched multiple collections and has even started to create its own in-house movements, thanks to production facilities based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Yet, all the watches that are stamped with the name Panerai are reminiscent of the watches created for the Italian frogmen, with the typical military elements.

This story was originally featured at https://monochrome-watches.com/panerai/.

JIL SANDER, the high-end luxury brand, is the epitome of modernity and sophistication. Its unconditional dedication to design combines elegance and purity with innovative materials and exceptional craftsmanship. The refinement of cuts and the perfection of details give form to an approach to fashion defined by deliberation, rigour, and high quality.

Launched in 1968 by Jil Sander, the fashion house presented its first women’s collection in 1973. The clean-lined designs signaled luxury clothes for a new generation of businesswomen.

Three years later, the Jil Sander company was founded, and in 1994, the brand’s first showroom opened in Milan, later becoming the creative and operative headquarters of the company.

The first Jil Sander men’s collection was presented in Milan in January 1997, introducing a new vision of modern masculinity combined with refined craftsmanship.

Creative Directors Lucie and Luke Meier have led the brand since 2017.

With its creative legacy of streamlined purity, the brand has pioneered a modern conception of luxury and elegance, enriching the world of fashion with distinctive craftsmanship and design.

Milan, 1984: a plaque outside a small office shows the surnames Dolce&Gabbana, almost as if it were a professional studio. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, with only two million lire in their pockets, thus began to write the history of the brand that they would have founded shortly after, in 1985, giving life to an all-Italian dream made up of craftsmanship, tailoring tradition, Mediterranean culture, innovation instinct and a pinch of irony. The first clothing collections would follow over time with a wide and varied offer, an expression of dedication, study and research: a virtuous path that culminates in 2012 with the dream of high fashion.

Behind every Dolce&Gabbana creation lie the secrets of many crafts, the devotion to work, attention to detail and love for beauty. After more than thirty-five years, Dolce&Gabbana continues to be inspired by Italian art, traditions and culture by offering clothes, accessories, jewelry and watches that embody a unique heritage of knowledge and emotions.

Diptyque is a Parisian maison of fragrance and home scent, founded in 1961 by painter Desmond Knox-Leet, designer Yves Coueslant, and architect Christiane Gautrot at 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain, where the original boutique still stands. The shop first sold printed fabrics and objects gathered from the founders' travels. In 1963 it introduced its first scented candles, and in 1968 it released L'Eau, its first eau de toilette. Today the house is known for its candles, eaux de parfum and eaux de toilette, diffusers, and bath and body collections, all recognizable by the black-and-white oval label. Its scents draw on nature, travel, and art, and it has boutiques in major cities around the world.

Marni is a luxury fashion brand founded in Milan, in 1994. Innovative and multifaceted, Marni celebrates individuality through an unpredictable visual language of graphic rigor.

Marni is a state of mind, a playful spirit, with a history of friendly, humanist values combined with an experimental approach to materials and colors, as well as a unique flair for mixing prints and shapes.

Marni collections include ready-to-wear for women, men and kids, handbags, shoes, accessories and eyewear.

The brand’s aesthetic paradigm mirrors the vision of Creative Director Francesco Risso: the quirky elegance of Marni is a range of possibilities, an exploration of ideals, a lifestyle with an avant-garde attitude that holds a constant dialogue with the world of art.

Our customers come to us because the watch they wear on their wrist matters to them – just as it matters to us. They tell us no one knows the market like we do and that they would never look anywhere else for the latest collections and the best service. Because of that, some of our customers have been with us for over 50 years – we like to think of them as ‘friends of the business’.

There are 4 Watches of Switzerland showrooms in the United States, including dedicated Rolex, Breitling and Omega boutiques.

At each you’ll find the same warm welcome and personal approach, where no question is too hard and no request too much.

Although we can’t offer you a glass of champagne here on our website, we hope you feel especially welcome and enjoy browsing our collections. If there’s anything we can do to help you as you search for your perfect timepiece, please don’t hesitate to contact us. If you’d like to arrange a viewing to come and try on a watch before you purchase, we’ll be happy to welcome you into one of our stores. We’re here to help.

Prada is an Italian luxury fashion house renowned for its intellectual approach to design, refined craftsmanship, and ability to continually redefine modern luxury. Founded in Milan in 1913 by Mario Prada, the house began as an exclusive leather goods and travel accessories shop in the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Its early reputation for exceptional materials and craftsmanship led to Prada becoming an official supplier to the Italian Royal Household in 1919.

Under the creative leadership of Miuccia Prada, who joined the family business in the 1970s, Prada evolved into one of the world's most influential fashion houses. Working alongside Patrizio Bertelli, she helped transform the company from a prestigious Italian leather goods business into an international luxury brand spanning ready-to-wear, handbags, footwear, accessories, and eyewear.

Today, Prada remains deeply connected to Milan while operating as the flagship brand of the Prada Group. The house continues to balance its heritage of Italian craftsmanship with experimentation and contemporary design, maintaining a distinctive position at the intersection of fashion, art, architecture, and culture.

Christian Dior was the designer of dreams. In founding his House in 1947, marked by the revolution of the New Look, he metamorphosed his reveries into wonderful creations. His visionary spirit never ceased to make Clients all over the world feel more beautiful, an inspiration for his successors to this day.

Christian Dior Couture, the House of Dreams, is recognized for its French heritage & vibrant culture sublimating its unique Savoir-faire and Creativity through empowering "metiers d’art”. Our Maison is a destination for sustainable growth & success where we shape the future of our Talents in a positive, authentic & generous environment. We bloom & deliver excellence with passion, determination, courage & optimism to offer meaningful & daring codes.

Rich in exceptional heritage, with a community of more than 8.000 talents, our House embodies Christian Dior’s “House of Talents” today more than ever.

Miu Miu was born in 1993 from the independent and unconventional spirit of Miuccia Prada. An outpost for the most refined femininity, a tangible expression of the energy conveyed by women’s natural contradictions and provocative personalities to contemporary society.

Miu Miu is the most unrestrained portrayal of Miuccia Prada’s creativity. Intentionally far from traditional aesthetic imagery, the brand conveys the essence of an emancipated and conscious woman. Miu Miu’s strength fluctuates between naïf spirit and iridescent subversion and it illustrates the most rebellious and seductive core of contemporary femininity.