A Look at Panerai’s Fascinating Military History Through One War-Torn Watch

Unless you’re a Panerai enthusiast you may be unaware of the Italian designed, Swiss made watch brand’s fascinating military history. So here’s a story that might just convert you to the ranks of the Paneristi. Italy did not have much in the way of warships during World War II, but they did have a devastatingly effective squadron of elite underwater frogmen, the Decima Flottiglia MAS, which destroyed dozens of enemy vessels by either laying charges or piloting manned torpedoes straight into their targets. Their equipment was second to none, and of course, timing being essential in such operations one of the most important items they had were wristwatches designed to excel in underwater combat situations.

These watches, called Radiomirs because of the luminescent radium on their dials, were specially made by Panerai for the Italian Royal Navy, and the earliest examples featured Rolex movements. Watches that saw action during World War II are of course exceptionally rare, and one such example recently came up for auction in Birmingham, England – not so strange when you learn that it belonged to a British soldier named George H. Rowson who acquired it during an attempt by German forces to destroy the Nijmegen Bridge in the Netherlands in September 1944. The battle was featured in the 1977 Sean Connery–Michael Caine movie A Bridge Too Far.

Rowson and his unit captured a team of German frogmen who were attempting to blow up the bridge before it could fall into the hands of the British. The Germans were extremely well kitted out, down to the Radiomir watches they had strapped over their wetsuits, which the Germans had effectively looted from Panerai’s Florence atelier during their attack on the city. “Unfortunately for them, they came out of the river too soon thinking they were back in their own lines again,” Rowson later wrote in a letter according to the UK’s Express & Star. “I was the sergeant along with my section who captured them and took them prisoner. They were wearing these rubber suits and each had a watch on one wrist and a compass on the other, specially made in Italy.”

And so the watch – once again – became a spoil of war. The Radiomir now bears a hand-carved inscription on the reverse detailing Rowson’s full name, rank and the year the piece was acquired in 1944. The article glosses over how exactly the Radiomir came into Rowson’s possession, but we can assume that the owner was no longer in a position to wear it, if indeed he was still breathing. It was wartime after all. You, however, don’t need to go to such extreme lengths to acquire an equally appealing – perhaps to die for – Panerai. There are dozens available to bid on via StockX Watches, including several Radiomirs and its successor, the Luminor and featuring some from Panerai’s historic collection designed in tribute to the original wartime watches.