As you might know Toolwatch decided to team up with a talented graphic designer to create unique illustrations displaying watchmaking icons. We have decided to pay tribute to these iconic timepieces with a bright and elegant pop art look alike style.
The result is outstanding: a cool print that will appeal to every watch geek for sure. The right item for all the clock maniacs for whom having their ticking partners on the wrist is simply not enough.
If you are reading this, you are probably like us at the Toolwatch team: in love with watches sure, but especially diving watches! Impressive and divise designs for disruptive looks, reliable even in extreme conditions, cool stories… It is nearly impossible to get enough when it is about diving watches! So we had to pay tribute to one of the most iconic diving watches: the Panerai Luminor.
Everything started when Founder Giovanni Panerai opened his watchmaker's shop in Florence in 1860 soon becoming the authorized dealer of some of the most important Swiss brands back in the time.
Over the decades the company got bigger and at the beginning of the 20th century, Panerai became an official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina in Italian) supplying high precision professional instruments.
In the 1930s Panerai submitted to the Royal Italian Navy a prototype watch resistant to extreme conditions while at the same time keeping exact time for the frogman commandos and offering excellent readability even under water. This very special watch was called Radiomir, from the name of the luminescent radium-based substance used for hands and indices.
Later on, during the 1950s, the Panerai diving watch evolved with a new self-luminous tritium substance called Luminor which was not only safer than radium-based Radiomir but also more luminous. The evolution from Radiomir to Luminor was completed in the fifties with the invention of the signature crown-protecting device which was patented in Italy in 1955 by brother and sister Giuseppe and Maria Panerai.
Unfortunately, this ticking beauty remained confidential for almost 50 years… The world had to wait until the 1990s when watch enthusiast and action-movie star Silvester Stallone decided to wear the modern version of the Luminor in his Daylight film. A massive Hollywood hype around the timepiece followed and that’s it the unique Italian-Swiss icon was finally recognized.
The imposing steel case with elegant lungs, the famous "sandwich" dial with two overlapping plates for an efficient luminous effect ensuring maximum legibility, funny small seconds hand, stylish OP logo and our personal favorite MARINA variation as an allusion to vintage military prototypes…
Yep, it is not only a very cool watch but it could be the coolest poster you could get!
Dimensions : 18 x 24 inches.
Technical specs:
• 18x24 inches
• Alder, Semi-hardwood frame
• Black in color
• .75” thick
• Acrylite front protector
• Lightweight
• Hanging hardware included
