Officine Panerai

It appears there's downgrading/reduction in technical specifications that is deliberately obfuscated, a deliberate betrayal. Example being the hacking function quietly removed as a running change to a particular caliber. Another example could be using a base-grade movement in a watch that's supposed to be special or limited, for which a premium is charged.

 

 

When mechanical watch aficionados feel they have been disrespected and hoodwinked by an entity that intentionally hasn't been forthcoming, the perceived treachery inflames them like nothing else.  Hence why it looks like only purists/connoisseurs are enraged by the 'Panerai downgrade' and most other owners aren't railing.  (So far it seems only Panerai has been caught red-handed doing this.  Perhaps if one day it came out that, say, Lange was using IWC parts, the former's snobby clients might be royally offended.)

 
As for the other offenders, their transgressions seem mainly marketing inventions, contortions and excesses, which most everyone takes as a given in the luxury goods industry.  Or, corner-cutting on new items (as opposed to running changes slipped in) without a price explosion.  Or, if there is a spec-down, it's not come to light--yet?--or isn't at the purist level and the customers wouldn't really know better--or care if they did (e.g. the same Carrera reference switching movements from 7750 to its Sellita clone and the caseback going opaque).