firstly, there are very few Panerai models that go below the 6K costs, these days. Secondly, Panerai has been a brand in transition, for a while. The need to create a wider customer's base has driven the brand away from the...grassroot aficionados..(the ones that still consider Panerai a cult) and into new territory. The grassroot aficionados are the ones that bought Panerai for....Panerai's sake. They didn't much care what was inside and were content with owning a "piece of history". The new clientele is a bit more demanding (and fickle) and still not "glued" to Panerai. That's why a lot of new models have so many...bells&whistles. These are the models that have to compete in the open market (something Panerai NEVER had to do before, as a niche operator). The reason why there are high&lows in the sales of Panerai is, probably, because the "new clients" compare the costs and performances of a Panerai vs an IWC, Rolex, VC etc and still buy the other brands on their merit. IMO