destrodan
509
I really enjoy Panerai
May 25, 2020,15:14 PM
I fell for the brand when I was young and saw them in a few well-known movies. I didn't care about their placement in the movies; rather, the dial and watch design just captured my heart as soon as I saw the watch.
Years later, I happened upon them while working in San Francisco in the early 2000s and tried them on. This sealed the deal. But I don't know if I would consider myself a Paneristi or not. I was a 'regular' but took a break from the brand starting around 2005-2006 for many years (moved on to military watches and Rolex, among others). I think the popularity and hype started to wear on me a bit (e.g. with the LE flippers). The same over-hype caused me to move on from Rolex more recently. These things tend to go in cycles I guess.
I recently jumped back in to Panerai with a 721 to join my 115 that my wife gave to me when we were married.
Panerai is known for producing smaller reference batches when compared with other manufactories. For example, 1000 batches here and there. It kills the purpose of Limited Edition watches when almost every watch is a Limited Edition, but on the other hand, if someone likes the Panerai design there's probably a watch out there that will appeal to them.
As to my favorite (modern) model, I went with the 721 as mentioned above. I've always loved watches with a clean/sleek design, and one can't get much sleeker than the 721 for a Panerai. I also love the Cali 249...I just wish they had made it with 100m water resistance. This was a deal-breaker for me. I use my watches and can be hard on them. Yes, there's the 448, but the 249 was first.
The one aspect that Panerai could improve upon IMHO is to do continue with the journey they started with the 372. Take the 'crown jewels' of their historical designs and don't put out some LE; rather, make the production runs long, like a Rolex Submariner or Explorer. The fans of the 372 haven't disappeared just because it isn't a LE. Instead, they've kept their fanbase because of the historical connection. They should have done the same with the Cali references, the 720 and 721 references, etc. The Panerai DNA design language is more than strong enough to compensate for a long regular production run. Panerai should have faith in their DNA and not lean so heavily on LEs.
All of the above is merely my opinion and is worth what you paid for it.
Best of luck as you research the brand!