I might get a lot of heat for this post but here it goes...
Every Paneristi I know is obsessed with the brand and always bring up the Italian Navy heritage. Bring up Rolex and they laugh as if Rolex is a shitty watch for those that 'don't know watches'. The more I read about it, the more it seems like the brand never really had a history. Now hear me out... Yes Panerai opened a timepiece shop in Florence in the late 1800's, but when he was commissioned to create a timepiece for the Italian Navy, he went to none other than Rolex for help because Rolex was already manufacturing the water-resistant submariner. The Italian navy watches used Rolex Movements and watch faces. Sure he held a patent on lume technology using highly radioactive substances, but an adequate watchmaker it seems he was not. You can almost equate his contribution to that watch as being the same as what Brabus is to Mercedes Benz, or Alpina to BMW. A glorified modifier.
After the war, nothing much was made of Panerai until Sylvester Stallone (a comical actor but none-the-less big action star) started wearing the watches in a time that poorly scripted action movies were all the rage. It was this Hollywood connection that got Panerai recognized by a global watch conglomerate (Richemont) that rebuilt the company from the ground up and made it what it is today.
Don't get me wrong, I like Panerai watches, but I'm left wondering where the heritage is in them? I own a gen Cartier and my Paneristi friend mocks it for being a jewellery brand and not a true watch maker. But last I checked, Cartier did more to contribute to the history of watch making than Panerai did with the first men's wristwatch in the Santos, and was an equal partner with Jager-LeCoutre in the early days for creating movements. My brother owns a gen Rolex Submariner and he too gets mocked by our Panerai friends who think Rolex owners don't give a crap about watchmaking. Sure Rolex is the number one selling luxury watch brand and a lot of buyers may not know much about watches, but that doesn't discredit the fact that Rolex is a premium watchmaker and more importantly, has always been one.
So is it safe to say that Panerai, as it is today, is a new age big box watchmaker with a false heritage slapped on to it? Or does it truly deserve recognition as a storied horological brand amongst the greats?
Every Paneristi I know is obsessed with the brand and always bring up the Italian Navy heritage. Bring up Rolex and they laugh as if Rolex is a shitty watch for those that 'don't know watches'. The more I read about it, the more it seems like the brand never really had a history. Now hear me out... Yes Panerai opened a timepiece shop in Florence in the late 1800's, but when he was commissioned to create a timepiece for the Italian Navy, he went to none other than Rolex for help because Rolex was already manufacturing the water-resistant submariner. The Italian navy watches used Rolex Movements and watch faces. Sure he held a patent on lume technology using highly radioactive substances, but an adequate watchmaker it seems he was not. You can almost equate his contribution to that watch as being the same as what Brabus is to Mercedes Benz, or Alpina to BMW. A glorified modifier.
After the war, nothing much was made of Panerai until Sylvester Stallone (a comical actor but none-the-less big action star) started wearing the watches in a time that poorly scripted action movies were all the rage. It was this Hollywood connection that got Panerai recognized by a global watch conglomerate (Richemont) that rebuilt the company from the ground up and made it what it is today.
Don't get me wrong, I like Panerai watches, but I'm left wondering where the heritage is in them? I own a gen Cartier and my Paneristi friend mocks it for being a jewellery brand and not a true watch maker. But last I checked, Cartier did more to contribute to the history of watch making than Panerai did with the first men's wristwatch in the Santos, and was an equal partner with Jager-LeCoutre in the early days for creating movements. My brother owns a gen Rolex Submariner and he too gets mocked by our Panerai friends who think Rolex owners don't give a crap about watchmaking. Sure Rolex is the number one selling luxury watch brand and a lot of buyers may not know much about watches, but that doesn't discredit the fact that Rolex is a premium watchmaker and more importantly, has always been one.
So is it safe to say that Panerai, as it is today, is a new age big box watchmaker with a false heritage slapped on to it? Or does it truly deserve recognition as a storied horological brand amongst the greats?
