Officine Panerai

ticktocktimesup
317

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Bye bye Panerai

I have just cancelled my order for the 317 with my dealer. Not just me who is extremely disappointed but my dealer as well, as until two weeks ago Panerai has been telling him that he would still receive the watch (however, they did not say it will be a less appealing version with the smoked glass and not the real-deal 317 K-series. I basically had to provide this information to my dealer, who did some further research, contacted some other dealers and when he had enough comfort that he was right then enquired with Panerai who gave him the news).

I know of various people who, just like me, have cancelled their orders as well, all for the same reasons. And the feeling that prevails is that Panerai has made a joke of themselves recently and even worse: has tried to make a joke out of us: their most loyal customers (and a lot of those unfortunately do not have the luck of living next to a boutique....). Two years of waiting, two years of lies and now trying to 'satisfy' us by giving a lousy smoked glass version?

Then the 339: myself and other collectors I know subscribed for this watch based on an edition of 1000 pieces. This seemed still somewhat rare and therefore somewhat justified a hefty price tag. So I put down a deposit only to learn, completely out of the blue, that Panerai increased the number of pieces to 1500. As the price of the watch was not subsequently revised downwards, I decided to cancel my order for the 339 as well.

The long and the short of it is that Panerai has just lost a long time collector. I have about 15 Pams in my collection and they are being sold as we speak. As for my friends and fellow collectors: I know some of them are doing exactly the same. Some other have decided to still keep their older pieces, but have decided not to purchase any new stuff. Perhaps a bit rigorous, but if you just sit and watch these guys will never learn (not that I expect my solo action will change the world, but at least I have given a signal / made a statement). If this is where my hard-earned money is going to: no thanks I can think of better things.

So bye bye Panerai! It was fun for as long as it lasted.