Panerai - A victim of passion
WORLDTEMPUS - January 18th 2010
"We were hacked last Thursday. All our novelties were showing online, five days prior to the press embargo," Panerai told Worldtempus when SIHH opened its doors for the annual show of luxurious Swiss watch making, on January 18th.
Hacking the Panerai website illustrates the clash between traditional watch making and modern online communication between potential end users, collectors and other timegeeks.
Obvious passion, for sure. But a passion so overwhelming that a watch brand - like Panerai - does not expect. The importance of showing the novelties on many a web-based discussion fora creates this kind of online 'spying' to great regrets of the watch companies.
"Mr. Bonati - red: Panerai CEO - suddenly rushed out of the presentation meeting in Milan last Thursday. A staff member whispered to Mr. Bonati that the website had been hacked and all novelties were being shared on social networks such as Facebook and horologically related websites," Panerai told Worldtempus.
Panerai had nothing to hide, though. The successful watch brand with Italian heritage embraced both their past, the present and very much the future. The latter with both a brand new material dubbed "Panerai Composite" that is much harder compared to ceramic - a material used by many watch brands in the last four or five years. However, Panerai is the very first watch brand to use this ultra light, yet ultra sturdy composite which has a lovely brownish tone to the black color.
"The middle case and bezel is one piece," Panerai told Worldtempus during a personal presentation. "That way there will be no color difference." Indeed the 47 millimeter watch, called Radiomir Composite Marina Militare 8 Giorni, has a stunning, even surface and even the C-buckle seems to match the watch case as it is also made from the same composite material. A good example of Panerai embracing the future even though the main emotions of the brand belongs to Italian divers during second world war.
Panerai is facing some what challenging times, moving fast into manufactured movements and hence belonging in a price range where many other luxury watch companies have long been represented. This means the current collection is very much Swiss and not so much Italian. None the less, Panerai shows its exciting heritage by reintroducing one of their historic pieces, the Mare Nostrum.
The Mare Nostrum was originally made in a very few units in the 1940ies and originally fitted with an Angelus chronograph movement. The 2010 version is fitted with a wonderful Minerva calibre 1322 movement with stunning finish. This whopping 52 millimeter novelty, PAM300, is fitted with a green textile strap and will only be satisfying 99 passionate Paneristis who can cough up with Euro 24.900.
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