You have to admit that at the best of times, rep panerai were pretty cheap, both relative to gen and other brand reps, in terms of quality. This made sense, because, unlike the AP, the panerai is, for the most part, a pretty simple watch to repeat.
VSF gave a significant boost, due to the use of clones, as well as exotic materials, and this was also appropriate.
Current HWFs and TTFs, for the most part, base their prices on target VSFs and downstreams like XCF and others, and simply measure their price against the balance of market and benefits. I agree with the statement that their objective quality does not match the price, if we take the example of NOOB or HF 10 years ago, but at the same time, this is a fairly objective position in the market regarding alternatives.
HWF panerai for 6497 costs 250-300$, and certainly not comparable to the old NOOB for the same money, but at the same time, this is the peak quality point at the moment. You can buy what you have, you can buy an old m2m, or you can wait another 5 years until better models come out. Everything sounds reasonable. But in either of these cases, it keeps a reasonable price tag of $5k new for GEN. And even the SBF models, for $500, repeat the PANERAI for $10+k, which is also reasonable. Gen has really become quite expensive, and rep too, but this is a natural process.