Officine Panerai presents its first ever flagship store in the Americas, created by the architect and designer Patricia Urquiola. The boutique of the Italian quality sports best Panerai replica watchmaker is situated in the heart of the Miami Design District, an area of the city which has recently been transformed into an exclusive luxury shopping destination.
The boutique extends over an area of 2,200 sq ft on two floors with two different entrances making this the largest Panerai point of sale in the United States to date. The flagship store is in the south-west corner of the Design District’s Palm Court and it has seven windows, five on the ground floor and two on the upper floor. The boutique windows face onto the piazza of the Palm Court, which is easily recognized by the large glass sculpture shaped like a geodesic dome in the centre of the courtyard.
The Panerai boutique in the Miami Design District is unique compared to other boutiques throughout the world, in terms of having an outer facade spanning two floors and in its furnishings and interior decoration. The interior design reflects a functional, simple idea of design, like that of the brand’s fake watches.
Patricia Urquiola, the famous Spanish designer based in Italy, has reinterpreted the aesthetic and technical codes of the watchmaker, paying heed to its identity and timeless design. The designer has succeeded in respecting tradition with a look that is modern and current, finding an appropriate link between the past and the future.
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For the new boutique the designer has used “calacatta luccicoso” veined marble, bronze and wood, materials which perfectly express the history of Officine Panerai: there are clear references both to its Florentine origins and to the universe of the sea, given the brand’s historic role in supplying precision instruments to the special forces of the Italian Navy between the 1930s and the 1950s.
One of the most distinctive elements of the boutique is the custom chandelier: a suspended series of disks, rings and lamps devised and designed by Patricia Urquiola, specially made and inspired by Panerai movements. The fixture hangs in the centre of each floor of the boutique and has a metal and gold finish reminiscent of vintage nautical instruments.
The second floor has been deliberately designed as a private area for exclusive collectors and an exhibition space to host works by contemporary artists and designers as well. The boutique is sophisticated, contemporary, innovative and elegant and, at the same time, welcoming.
With the new boutique and reopening designed by Urquiola, Officine Panerai now has 65 boutiques worldwide, 11 of which are in the United States.
Angelo Bonati, Chief Executive Officer of Officine Panerai, says: “For us the Americas are a fundamentally important market. Miami is an international center of art and design, and it represents a great opportunity in terms of exposure and increasing our international clientele.”
Patricia Urquiola adds: “In the boutique we have introduced some new features like the tailor made chandelier that evokes the precision mechanisms of a Panerai replica watch. As well as the staircase linking the two levels. I hope that it will become a meeting point not only for Panerai lovers but as well a showcase for designers and artists that have the same attitude for research and quality.”