HONG KONG, Oct. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fine Italian watchmaker Officine Panerai celebrates a decade of success for its LANDMARK PRINCE'S Boutique in Hong Kong on October 3 with the opening of a week-long exclusive exhibition of iconic Panerai timepieces from the past 10 years. The Panerai LANDMARK PRINCE'S Boutique was the brand's first boutique in Asia when it opened in 2002 and was the second worldwide after the historic Panerai boutique in Florence, Italy.
The exhibition, which will be opened to the public at the Landmark Atrium in Central until October 9, was unveiled to a selection of VIPs, business partners and media from the Asia Pacific Region with a cocktail, followed by a private dinner at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana under the ministrations of the celebrity chef Umberto Bombana, the only Italian 3 Michelin Stars Chef outside Italy and a veritable ambassador of Italian taste and culture worldwide.
The display of 48 exclusive timepieces was made possible by the generosity of private collectors who selflessly shared their prized timepieces for the exhibition, thereby presenting a rare and exclusive opportunity for visitors to admire these remarkable pieces of innovation under one roof in Hong Kong.
Visitors who stepped within the three-sided semi-transparent walls surrounding the central booth innovatively shaped like a Luminor case were immediately transported to Panerai's world of Italian heritage and design. The top of the booth shows the iconic simple Luminor dial with Super-LumiNova® effects on the hour indices.
The 48 iconic timepieces are housed within two double-sided showcases divided into four different zones located at each linear hour index. The outer faces of all 8 showcases are also lit by the glow of Super-LumiNova® effects. The four zones reflect the brand's fundamental values, the authenticity, exclusivity and rarity of its products and the brand's outstanding identity that embodies a unique mix of classic Italian design and innovative Swiss technology and craftsmanship.
Zone A -- History enables visitors to step into Officine Panerai's rich Italian heritage with 12 vintage pieces including the Radiomir - 47mm (PAM00021) and the Mare Nostrum - 52mm (PAM00300).
The Radiomir -- 47mm was Panerai's first special edition timepiece after the brand's acquisition by the Richemont group in 1997. The timepiece was a re-edition of the first Radiomir produced in 1938 and was the first to carry the Radiomir name. Introduced in 2010, the Mare Nostrum -- 52mm was a special re-edit of the chronograph that had originally been designed as a deck officer's watch for the Italian Navy in 1943.
Zone B -- Exclusivity celebrates some of the most exclusive pieces in the past decade and includes the Luminor Marina Militare -- 47mm (PAM00217) and the rare Luminor Marina -- 44mm (PAM00412) among the exhibited 18 timepieces.
The Luminor Marina Militare -- 47mm (PAM00217) is the first Panerai left-handed timepiece with a Luminor 1950 case, a special edition highly sought after by collectors. Also, the Luminor Marina - 44mm (PAM00412) is a boutique special edition created for and only available in Panerai's Hong Kong boutiques. The caseback is personalized with the intricate engraving of the Hong Kong skyline featuring the Bank of China Tower in the foreground.
Zone C -- Technicality pays tribute to Panerai's sophisticated movements with 9 technical timepieces that include the Luminor Submersible 1950 Amagnetic 3 Days Automatic Titanio -- 47mm (PAM00389) as well as the L'Astronomo -- Luminor 1950 Equation of Time Tourbillon Oro Bianco -- 50mm (PAM0036502).
Part of the Contemporary Collection, the Luminor Submersible 1950 Amagnetic 3 Days Automatic Titanio (PAM00389) is powered by the in-house automatic P.9000 calibre and is the latest novelty of the Italian brand, presented for the first time in the Asia Pacific Region. The special construction of the titanium case makes it remarkably resistant to magnetic fields and the case was inspired by the models made by the Panerai for the Egyptian navy in the 1950s. The L'Astronomo (PAM0036502) is the most complicated wristwatch ever created by Panerai. Fitted with the in-house hand-wound mechanical P.2005/G movement, the watch was created as a tribute to Galileo Galilei and features the Tourbillon function, tailor made with a sky chart, sunrise and sunset indicators and equation of time.
Zone D -- Innovation features groundbreaking developments in special materials exemplified by 9 models, including the Radiomir Composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni -- 47mm (PAM00339) and the Radiomir 8 Days GMT Oro Rosso -- 45mm (PAM00395).
The Panerai Composite is formed through a complex process of plasma micro-arcs ceramisation that results in a unique material that guarantees comfort, great aesthetics, lightness and resistance to knocks, scratches and high temperatures. The Red Gold for the casing of the PAM00395 was only introduced by Panerai in 2012 and is the 5NPt, a special alloy that holds an unusually high percentage of copper and platinum, thus giving it both depth of color as well as preventing oxidation.
The last highlight of the exhibition is the special display of the creation of the Radiomir case in Ceramic, which had previously been displayed at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2012 earlier this year, to reveal once again the Panerai commitment to research innovative and performing new materials.
To date, Panerai has 46 of boutiques around the world, 17 of which are in the Asia Pacific region.
The exhibition, which is exclusive only to Hong Kong, is open to the public from 11:00 to 22:00 daily until October 9th, 2012.
| Exhibition: | 10th Anniversary of LANDMARK PRINCE'S Boutique Exhibition |
| Venue: | Landmark Atrium |
| Location: | G/F, The Landmark, 16 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong |
| Date: | October 3rd - 9th 2012 |
| Time: | 11:00 to 22:00 |
| Free admission | |
For more information, please contact LANDMARK PRINCE'S Boutique: +852-2522-9373.
