The tradition of Italian craftsmanship suffered a severe blow in the late 1990’s when the now Richemont group bought Officine Panerai, a century old Florentine watch maker specialized in dive watches often made on spec for the Navy. The tragedy was not the acquisition itself, but the subsequent decision to move production to Switzerland leaving many Florentine craftsmen with nothing to craft.

Luckily a local businessman with a passion for watches and for fine Italian workmanship, Federico Massacesi, decided that the art of watch making should continue in Florence. This, in short, is how Anonimo was born in 1997 based in Florence, Italy. The local watchmakers went back to work creating some of the most rugged and unique watches ever made in Florence and continuing the proud and more than 100-year-old tradition that was started in Florence by Giovanni Panerai in 1860. If you ever get a chance to strap one to your wrist even if you are just watch-case-shopping you will appreciate the attention to details that goes into making each Anonimo watch by hand.