PANERAI Opens Boutique In South Africa

Officine Panerai has opened first mono-brand boutique in South Africa in Johannesburg, entrusting the design of the store to the designer-architect Patricia Urquiola. The new boutique is located in one of the best known shopping malls in the city, the Sandton City Mall, Corner of Rivonia Road & Sandton Drive, the prestigious shopping destination in the South African capital.

The Panerai boutique has an area of 36sq 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 Patricia 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.

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