Was walking around midtown manhattan today with the family, and my wife pointed the official Panerai store out to me. I didn't know they had such a thing! Closed because it was easter, but i'm going back tomorrrow to check out all their merchandise 
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I died and went to Panerai heaven
- Thread starter tokeyx
- Start date
Can't wait until it's full of watches I'm wearing a gen tomorrow and stopping in, hopefully they let me take lots of pictures. Maybe I can expense a wall clock for my office...
I'm wearing a gen tomorrow and stopping in, hopefully they let me take lots of pictures. Maybe I can expense a wall clock for my office...looks like the panerai boutique on madison avenue...i went there may 2010 and again october 2010....really nice shop that is an official panerai company boutique and its all panerai all the time at that place
when a buddy went there a few months prior to my visits he had an exceptionally good experience and ended up buying not only a watch for himself but also his wife and the sales lady threw in 2 extra straps for each of the watches (in addition to what came with his watches)....he was as giddy as a school girl minutes after a private justin beiber meet and greet when he called me to rub it in....it was crowded but they got to him quickly and waited on him hand and foot and kept throwing in extra bands to sweeten the deal in order to move watches
my visits were not as pleasant.....the first time the only two sales guys there were "swamped" with one customer each who had like five or six watches out on each sales counter, didnt know what they wanted, and kept asking the same questions over and over again...other than the two customers seated at the display/sales tables my father and i were the only other two people in the shop...i just browsed looking at the goods, answered my father's panerai trivia questions, and was trying to keep from drooling..i was wearing a gen pam24 and dad was wearing a gen cartier roadster gmt and we both never even got so much as one second of eye contact or a "i'll be with you when i can get free"..we both tried several times to catch the attention of the sales guys as i knew what i wanted prior to walking into the boutique and had the funds to buy it...after being completely ignored for about 20 minutes my dad whispered to me "Let's go...write a polite business letter to the ceo of panerai describing your experience at the boutique"....which i did...
second visit had only one sales guy there (not the same as my previous visit) who was also occupied with a customer who had probably 8+ watches on the counter comparing them over and over again while looking at an iphone txting AND had out a laptop with some watch website on the screen and obviously was schooled/well read in panerai watches by the questions he was asking.....he was wearing the sales guy out...there were also like 10 other folks there waiting to look at watches....never got to talk with the sales guy as i ran out of time but at least this time he acknowledged every person in the shop and would eventually get to every one....didnt score a watch that trip either
finally got the model i was wanting on the secondary market new unworn with full warranty for less than the boutique price....
will i go back?..sure i will...next time i visit my brother in nyc i will also visit the boutique just to drool....and also visit the half dozen other stores that carry panerai that are within a several block walk of each other....i saw more models of gen panerais in a day than most folks have seen in a lifetime
will i buy from the boutique?....probably not...except for certain models unique to each boutique anyone can score almost any gen pam from brick and mortar panerai dealers or on the secondary market....the boutique does not discount but if you are there its certainly worth taking the time to stop in and drool...and maybe even be able to handle some....
ps.....if you itemize your business expenses you can probably get away with expensing the pam clock as office furniture or decoration but then again i am not an accountant.....it used to work in the past for other items without raising a flag
when a buddy went there a few months prior to my visits he had an exceptionally good experience and ended up buying not only a watch for himself but also his wife and the sales lady threw in 2 extra straps for each of the watches (in addition to what came with his watches)....he was as giddy as a school girl minutes after a private justin beiber meet and greet when he called me to rub it in....it was crowded but they got to him quickly and waited on him hand and foot and kept throwing in extra bands to sweeten the deal in order to move watches
my visits were not as pleasant.....the first time the only two sales guys there were "swamped" with one customer each who had like five or six watches out on each sales counter, didnt know what they wanted, and kept asking the same questions over and over again...other than the two customers seated at the display/sales tables my father and i were the only other two people in the shop...i just browsed looking at the goods, answered my father's panerai trivia questions, and was trying to keep from drooling..i was wearing a gen pam24 and dad was wearing a gen cartier roadster gmt and we both never even got so much as one second of eye contact or a "i'll be with you when i can get free"..we both tried several times to catch the attention of the sales guys as i knew what i wanted prior to walking into the boutique and had the funds to buy it...after being completely ignored for about 20 minutes my dad whispered to me "Let's go...write a polite business letter to the ceo of panerai describing your experience at the boutique"....which i did...
second visit had only one sales guy there (not the same as my previous visit) who was also occupied with a customer who had probably 8+ watches on the counter comparing them over and over again while looking at an iphone txting AND had out a laptop with some watch website on the screen and obviously was schooled/well read in panerai watches by the questions he was asking.....he was wearing the sales guy out...there were also like 10 other folks there waiting to look at watches....never got to talk with the sales guy as i ran out of time but at least this time he acknowledged every person in the shop and would eventually get to every one....didnt score a watch that trip either
finally got the model i was wanting on the secondary market new unworn with full warranty for less than the boutique price....
will i go back?..sure i will...next time i visit my brother in nyc i will also visit the boutique just to drool....and also visit the half dozen other stores that carry panerai that are within a several block walk of each other....i saw more models of gen panerais in a day than most folks have seen in a lifetime
will i buy from the boutique?....probably not...except for certain models unique to each boutique anyone can score almost any gen pam from brick and mortar panerai dealers or on the secondary market....the boutique does not discount but if you are there its certainly worth taking the time to stop in and drool...and maybe even be able to handle some....
ps.....if you itemize your business expenses you can probably get away with expensing the pam clock as office furniture or decoration but then again i am not an accountant.....it used to work in the past for other items without raising a flag
Make sure you visit other watch stores on that avenue too. That area is truly a watch heaven. I was up there one rainy Sunday, and all the stores were closed :facepalm: I must revisit during the week sometime. Have fun tomorrow, and take lots of pics!!