In December, luxury Italian watch brand Panerai will open a new boutique in New York City, its second stand-alone U.S. store (the other is in Los Angeles). Panerai has been on an expansion binge of late, with recently opened shops in Florence, Portofino, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In addition to the NYC store, openings are planned for Buenos Aires, Madrid, Qatar and Dubai. The furnishings in the Panerai Boutiques are inspired by the sea, as Panerai started out supplying instruments to the Royal Italian Navy. Teak and steel are the predominant materials employed in the shops’ nautical design, while furnishing details evoke diving suits and equipment, with porthole-shaped display panels recalling yacht fittings.
