Given Panerai’s unchanging approach to design, and its origins as a World War 2 diver’s watch, it can be slightly jarring to realise that as a consumer watch brand, it is the same age as such 1990s icons as Pepsi Max, the Aston Martin DB7 or – appropriately enough – Action Man.
Founded in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai as a combination of workshop, watchmaking school and shop, the company only began producing watches for…

