Italian watchmaker Officine Panerai has opened a brand new store in Beijing, inside the Wangfu Central (WFC) at Wangfujing, one of China’s well-known shopping areas.
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Covering an area of 56 square metres, it is the tenth Officine Panerai store to open in China.
Spanish Architect and designer, Patricia Urquiola, was once again tapped to create the Florentine jeweller’s new retail outlet.
In doing so, Urquiola, who first partnered with Officine Panerai in 2011, used veined Italian marble “calacatta luccicoso”, burnished brass, bronze and a special “reeded” glass, undulating and transparent, as clear references to the history of the brand.
With clear connections to the sea, the watchmaker described the store as “evoking the brand’s historic role in supplying precision instruments to the special forces of the Italian Navy between the 1930s and the 1950s.”
A large wall clock welcomes clients and enthusiasts visiting the boutique, recalling one of the most iconic Panerai dials: that of Luminor Marina. The project management was overseen by Area-17.
The news comes after the high-end Florentine jeweller and watchmaker opened its debut Australia store in Melbourne in mid-March, in partnership with local arm Kennedy, one of Australia’s leading luxury watch and jewellery retailers.
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Founded in 1860 in Florence, Officine Panerai was for years the supplier of precision instruments to the Italian Navy. In 1997, the Richemont Group acquired the brand, before taking the Panerai brand global.
Officine Panerai currently boasts 75 stores worldwide.