Officine Panerai has opened its first mono-brand boutique in South Africa, which has been designed by designer-architect Patricia Urquiola.

The new boutique is located in the Sandton City Mall, one of the best known shopping malls in the South African capital Johannesburg.

The Panerai boutique has an area of 36 sq m devoted entirely to sales, with two exterior windows facing onto the mall’s walkway.

As in all the boutiques recently opened and renovated by Studio Urquiola, once again in the new Johannesburg boutique the celebrated Spanish designer has reinterpreted the aesthetic codes and techniques of the watch house, while respecting its identity and its timeless design.

The materials used are in perfect accord with the philosophy and history of Officine Panerai, clearly referencing its Florentine origins and the world of the sea. The distinctive elements used by Urquiola are the “calacatta luccicoso” veined marble of the floor, the polished bronze and wood used to make the single-sided vitrines on the outside of the boutique and the internal niches, the retro- styled chandeliers above the two sales counters, and the counters themselves finished in brushed bronze, a clear reminder of the world of the sea.

A fundamental icon of Panerai has been placed on the wall facing the entrance, a large wall clock, while the wall facing the sales counters is clad in corrugated glass panel enclosing two display windows.

The boutique is very welcoming, sophisticated, contemporary and elegant: as well as admiring the beautiful technology of Panerai watches, visitors can relax here in an intimate and luxurious atmosphere.

As well as the own-brand store in Milan, Studio Urquiola has also been responsible for the new openings or the renovation of the boutiques in Florence, the city in which the brand was born, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Miami, New York and Paris.

With the opening of this one in Johannesburg, Officine Panerai now has 66 boutiques worldwide.

Founded in 1860 in Florence when it consisted of a boutique, a workshop and a watchmaking school, Officine Panerai was for years the supplier of precision instruments to the Italian Navy, in particular equipping the commando frogmen.

The projects which were created at that time, including the Luminor and Radiomir watches, continued to be covered by military secrecy for many years, until the purchase of the brand by the Richemont Group in 1997 and the brand’s subsequent launch on the international market.

Today, Officine Panerai develops and produces its own movements and watches – combining Italian design and history with Swiss craftsmanship – in its manufacture at Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and these are sold worldwide through a network of dealers and in its own-brand boutiques throughout the world.

Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo, Spain and she now lives and works in Milan. She carries out designs for major Italian and international companies.

Several of her works are exhibited in major art and design museums and she has won numerous international prizes and awards including the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes (Gold Medal for the Fine Arts); the Order of Isabella the Catholic, presented by His Majesty Juan Carlos I, King of Spain; “Designer of the Decade” by the magazines H.O.M.E. and Häuser; and “Designer of the Year” by the magazines Wallpaper, AD Spain, Elle Deco International and Architektur und Wohnen.