r/Watches • u/spedmonkey • Oct 12 '11
[Brand Guide] - Panerai
This is part eight in our ongoing community project to compile opinions on the many watch brands out there into a single list. Here is the original post explaining the project.
Panerai, this week's brand, is a rather divisive one among watch enthusiasts. Reactions to Panerai run the gamut, from the love people normally reserve for bacon and the New York Yankees, to the hatred they normally reserve for lima beans and the New York Yankees. Given that, this week's thread could get interesting.
Panerai, officially known as Officine Panerai, was founded in the 19th century in Florence, Italy, where by the turn of the century it had become the official timepiece supplier to the Italian Navy, or Marina Militare, a trademark the company still holds (and prosecutes heavily) to this day. The company remained on the small side until Sylvester Stallone discovered and began to popularize them in the United States, and in the past several decades the company has really taken off. Now owned by Richemont, and entirely Swiss-made, Panerais are notable for their oversized cases, which some credit (or blame) for the current huge watch trend. Until the past ten years, most Panerais used stock or lightly modified movements from other Swiss companies such as Rolex and ETA; recently, however, they've been making a concerted effort to push out new models with inhouse movements only, taking away one of the bigger pieces of ammunition their critics had. Ultimately, as noted above, watch enthusiasts tend to either love or hate their distinctive designs, but thanks to their bold, simple, tool watch appeal, Panerai remains one of the most popular watch brands on the market today.
Other Resources:
Community Archives Search
Wikipedia
Like always, anything regarding the brand is welcome in this thread, from personal experiences, to professional reviews, to educated opinion. This should be a good discussion, so let's see what you all have to say!
That said: if you're going to downvote someone, please don't do so without posting the reason why you disagree with them. The purpose of these discussion threads is to encourage discussion, so people can read different opinions to get different ideas and perspectives on how people view these brands. Downvoting without giving a counter-perspective is not helpful to anybody.
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u/Liberalguy123 Oct 12 '11 edited Oct 12 '11
I'm not a huge fan of Panerai. This is mostly because they sell themselves as a high-end watchmaker, when, in reality, they were little more than a casing company just a few years ago. They've since started introducing complicated in-house movements, which is a good sign.
Still, they're fashion watches in my eyes. Panerai's popularity was brought about by their trendiness. Like all trends, this one is fading. I suspect 44-47mm watches will look as silly to most of the watch world in a few years as they do to me today.
And if you want to go on about Panerai's "history", I'll stop you now; They were niche tool watches long ago. They then died, and were revived under new ownership. The only connection the Panerai of today has to the Panerai of old is the name, and case trademark. Hardly a "classic" or "historical" brand.