By Natalie White

Florentine luxury watchmaker Officine Panerai is set to showcase the "History and Legend" exhibition from 26 August to 6 September 2015 at ION Orchard, the exclusive shopping mall where the only Officine Panerai boutique in Singapore is based.

This will be a rare opportunity for watch enthusiasts to discover the brand's rich heritage and to admire a selection of Panerai’s iconic timepieces representing the brand in different eras.

Visitors will be able to travel through time, discovering the origins of the design of Panerai watches in the 1940s and 1950s with a display that unfolds around a full-size prototype (7.5 metres long, 0.53 in diameter) of a "slow-speed torpedo", a human torpedo also known as Siluro a Lenta Corsa (S.L.C.).

First seen earlier this year during the Fuorisalone events accompanying Salone del Mobile in Milan, these are prototypes of the manned torpedoes that were originally piloted underwater by Italian Navy divers, wearing Panerai wristwatches and depth gauges.

Therein lay the founding blocks of Panerai's now-famous timepieces.

The exhibition is also a unique experience to discover the master Panerai collection, which combines the pureness and authenticity of Italian design with the Swiss know-how of the Panerai manufacture based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

The collection classification takes after the names of the watch cases developed by Panerai starting from 1936, the year of the first Radiomir model, up to today, and includes a selection of Radiomir 1940, Luminor 1950 and Luminor models.

Visitors can discover Panerai’s collection through the display at the exhibition, which demonstrates the sophisticated function of Long Power Reserve, High Complications, Chronographs and GMT.

Daily Guided Tours

• 3.00pm - 3.30pm
• 5.00pm - 5.30pm

Email ion.singapore@panerai.com to register.