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| Photo by Doug Castanedo |
Officine Panerai’s new Americas Flagship boutique in Miami serves
as a symbol of the city’s vibrant luxury scene while it represents the watch
brand’s heritage.
The two-story, 2,200-square-foot retail space opened
officially in July in an area dedicated to luxury watch and jewelry brands in
the burgeoning Miami Design District. Angelo Bonati, CEO of Panerai, insists that the boutique represents a
long-term commitment to the American market, the city of Miami and the design
district—which has grown to become an international center for modern art,
architecture and design.
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| Panerai CEO, Angelo Bonati Photo by Doug Castanedo |
“Miami is the most important boutique in the United States.
Not yet in terms of sales. (But) in terms of representing Panerai because Miami
is a city of art,” says Bonati during an interview inside the new boutique. “Miami
is the door of the United States. For me it is the correct mix to establish the
image of the brand.”
The boutique represents a new design for the brand created by
Patricia Urquiola, a Spanish-born Italian-educated architect and designer. Bonati
says it was important to choose a designer who understood Italian culture. (On
Urquiola’s Wikipedia page it notes that the she is “Spanish by birth and
Italian by choice.”) In addition, Bonati says the two worked together on exhibitions
in Milan and Beijing.
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| Photo by Doug Castanedo |
“She brought all the characteristics to express all the
elements of Panerai, which is not easy to understand. Plus we had an experience
with her because she was the director of an exhibition in Milan where the theme
was time,” he says. “It was a very important exhibition and we were very
impressed with her work.
He adds, “It was her first experience working on a boutique
for us and this is important because she was not (influenced) by other brands.
If you do shops for different brands you cannot avoid mixing the styles.”
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| Photo by Doug Castanedo |
The long, narrow retail space has a contemporary edge but
still references the Florentine roots and seafaring nature of the watch brand,
which at one time created timepieces for the Italian navy. For example, one
wall is made of light-brown woods while the other is made of undulated and
transparent glass designed to replicate light being refracted and reflected in
ocean water. The water theme is further enhanced with wall displays fashioned
like ship portals. Rows of down lights have the appearance of light fixtures
from an old ship.
The center element for the boutique is a chandelier designed
to replicate Panerai watch movements that runs the length of the high ceiling
on each floor.
At the entrance of a stairway leading to the second floor
there’s an antique scuba suit. Long copper bars frame the stairway. On the
second floor there’s a large replica of a Panerai Luminor Marina watch face
with hour markers and watch hands in a green luminescent finish. The upper
space extends to outside walkway/patio. It will be used for private sales, parties
and art exhibits.
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| Photo by Doug Castanedo |
The Panerai boutique is located at the end of Palm Court, a
two-story blue-hued structure designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto (his
first US project). It is an area of the Miami Design Center dedicated to luxury
watch and jewelry brand boutiques. A. Lange & Sohne, Hublot, IWC
Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, TAG Heuer,
Tourbillon, Vacheron Constantin, Vhernier, Yvel, Audemars Piguet and Van Cleef
and Arpels, are among Panerai’s neighbors. Most of the boutiques are open with
the remaining to open in 2016.
Outside Palm Court there’s a replica of Buckminster Fuller’s
Fly’s Eye Dome and a large fiberglass bust of Le Corbusier by French artist
Xavier Veilhan. This is in character with the intention of the Miami Design
District to house landmark buildings created by world-class architects and
site-specific art works by internationally renowned modern artists.
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| On the right is Palm Court. In the foreground is a large fiberglass bust of Le Corbusier in the back is a replica of Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome. Photo by Robin Hill |
Palm Court is the latest phase in the Miami Design District,
a 20-year project to covert an abandoned furniture and interior design center
into an international art and design district with luxury shopping, world-class
restaurants, museums, hotels and housing. The 18-block area is expected to be
fully completed by the end of 2016, says Craig Robins, CEO of Dacra Development,
who has led the development of the district.
Bonati says the Design District and Miami’s importance as an
international modern art and design destination is complimentary with Panerai’s
Florentine pedigree. This is what he wants to convey with the new boutique.
“Art and design is linked to the brand. You can see the
detail. You can easily understand something that is timeless because this
design was made in 1936 but it’s still contemporary now,” he says. “Florence is
an expression of art that is universal because Florence expresses something unique
that nobody can be able to express in the future. But Miami through this
modernity, through this design and contemporary art is another expression for
the future that can be very important. I love Miami for that. Most European
people love Miami for that.”
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