Initially it was just upsetting to see, then the questions popped up as to why they would do it. To save money? It'd save so little in comparison to this bad press. If we think they are a fashion brand (i don't) then this is exactly what they should avoid. Is rolex a fashion brand too? I guess so. But that gives it a negative connotation. I definitely would put Panerai along with Cartier, Rolex, IWC etc. Probably not JLC because I really respect them as a true movement manufacture. Fashion, sure... zero merit? I don't think so. And these brands will definitely last longer than any of us will see.
Panerai is so far away from HH that it really doesn't matter whether they stay inside FHH. They're getting into inhouse because they know they won't be able to charge more than they do now for the same case unless they made changes or investments somewhere. If they aren't seen as making a move to become a manufacture, I doubt it would have that larger following. For the general public, when you charge this kind of money and when you BTs in the most expensive shops, they need to see the typical long reserve and nicely finished (at least in looks) movements. Exclusivity and nice presentation is just great. It definitely attracts a different crowd from the actual pam fan/collector. We just want ETA in the right simple base panerai DNA look. And straps that amount to the same cost as the watch. In that sense, I don't think this debacle affected the passionate, and definitely not the new comers because they probably don't know about it and don't care. It probably only gives a bad taste in the mouth to those that have recently bought their contemporary line or those that have never understood the brand for its simple dial, the bold case and the history.
What bugs me is that it seems they've released a killer year, but keep pushing out more and more surprise SEs that it seems like they want to get rid of something before next year and do something drastic. Why not space it out? Nobody in their right mind will want to buy 10 pams a year. 372,373,376,368,382,390,422 are all very hot pieces. Sorry I mean 7, not 10. Let's add all those BT editions in the equation and it almost seems silly. I think the roll out of these SEs really put me off, much more so than this 318 issue.