Panerai: unique watches and experiences

The latest entry to the world of haute horlogerie is the addition of unique experiences that come along with the purchase of high-end watches. Panerai, which is in a class of its own in the creation of diving watches and high complications, is at the head of the game in this also. Gaby Bitarian, Brand Director, Officine Panerai ­­– Middle East & India, in his exclusive interview with “Day & Night” magazine, says that such experiences are “here to stay…”

Why is this year termed as “the year of the Submersible” by Panerai?
The Submersible used to be part of Panerai’s Luminor line, even though it has substantial differences with the Luminor, namely in the case structure, and the rotating bezel that is used to time a dive. The Submersible is a professional diver’s watch. Jean-Marc Pontroué, our CEO, decided that these differences are important enough make the Submersible its own line as part of the Panerai collection, alongside the ‘Radiomir’, the ‘Luminor’ and ‘Luminor Due’. To celebrate that, we have called 2019/2020 “the year of Submersible” and have focused most of our Innovations and our marketing activities on the Submersible.

How important is the Submersible collection for Panerai?
The Submersible perfectly carries the values of the brand. It is a professional diver’s watch, which best brings out our historic link to the sea; it is sporty and rugged, and the collection uses our most innovative material like Carbotech, BMG-Tech, and most recently Eco-Titanium with the Mike Horn watch. The Submersible is growing very fast in popularity, and the development of new smaller cases, such as the 42mm, is increasing the popularity of this line, and its importance as part of the Panerai collection even further and faster.

Some of the new watches come with Experience concepts like the free diving excursion; are these experiences to be a recurring thing?
We know that it is very important to immerse the customers in the life and values of the brand by making them experience the brand, its values, and its associations. Having customers take part of experiences creates an unbeatable deep bond with the brand. Today, Panerai offers 3 global experiences: one with Marina Militare – the Italian special forces; a freediving and whale watching trip with Guillaume Nery; and last but not least, an expedition on a glacier with Mike Horn. In the future, we hope to offer even more experiences, for more people. Jean-Marc often jokes that his title of CEO should stand for Chief Experiences Officer. So yes, experiences are here to stay.

This year Panerai released many unique dials, such as the Panerai Submersible Marina Militare carbotech. How has the feedback been?
The feedback has been great. Coming out of SIHH, many people, including our partners and media, have stated that this year is the year of Panerai. And to be honest, the customer feedback is just as positive. The wealth of novelties, materials, new case sizes and colours have all given the brand a great boost in our fans’ eyes. The content generated by the brand around those novelties, and the upgrade in brand experience have naturally helped a lot in increasing the impact. The demand for those novelties has been and still remains very high, so we are very happy.

The Panerai Submersible BMG-Tech has BMG-Tech for the case and Carbotech for the bezel, which is a very attractive combination. Are we going to see more such combinations in the future?
Indeed, this new outstanding model combines the ultimate lightness of Carbotech together with the strongest material used on a Panerai, and this has resulted in a watch with great character from an aesthetic point of view, as you’ve just mentioned. This is an outstanding example of the creative abilities of the Panerai Laboratorio di Idee, which works tirelessly on such ideas. And I can tell you that the momentum will remain strong moving forward as the ideas are endless. But the executions cannot be endless as we must ensure the integrity of the brand by staying true to its values as well, namely it’s exclusivity.

Out of all the watches presented in SIHH 2019, which resonated the most to consumers?
The new watches Panerai presented were all unique in their own way. The Submersibles, as we knew they would be, were a huge hit, including the limited editions with their exciting experiences, which were sold-out instantly. The Carbotech were really well received, including the new 42mm PAM00960 and 47mm PAM01616.

Naturally, the iconic Bronzo PAM00968 is always a stunner, and this year with its brown ceramic rotating dial it continues to be one of the most demanded pieces. Looking at the high-end watches, our Luminor Tourbillon GMT with sandblasted Titanium case (Direct Metal Laser Sintering – DMLS) and Carbotech bezel also created quite an impact. This is just to name a few highlights. We are very happy with the response overall.

In recent years, Panerai has placed a huge emphasis on areas like in-house movement development, complications and material experimentation. Will this continue?
Yes, this is absolutely part of the DNA of the brand, and it is part of our Laboratorio di Idee‘s mission. It is a large part of what makes Panerai stand out, and it will continue to reinforce our positioning as an Exclusive Technical Sports Watch Maison made of Unmistakable Italian Design as well as Mechanical Content and Creative Innovations.

Is it fair to expect Panerai to be on a continued accelerated growth track?
One thing is certain: we will spare no effort in wowing our customers with innovative products and spectacular experiences. We are confident that if this is done right and we maintain a great engaging “conversation” with our customers, there is no reason to doubt we will continue to do well.

Many Panerai fans like the military heritage and remakes – those are usually winners – but there are also collectors who like complications. How important are high-end complications going to be for Panerai?
Complications, of course, are a significant draw and there are customers who value them highly and are always looking for new ones. If you are at the top of your game you recognise this; you act upon it. Panerai is always at the forefront in that. Our Laboratorio di Idee never stops its quest for fresh concepts and ways of creating them, raising standards and performance continually. This results in stunning watches like the Panerai Luminor Tourbillon GMT – PAM00768 (Lo Scienziato) and Luminor Tourbillon Moon-Phases & Equation of Time – PAM00920 (L’Astronomo), which can be fully personalised for the customer – in terms of the case material and finishing, the constellation in the moonphase, the equation of time, hands etc.

On the even higher end comes the Radiomir Minute Repeater Tourbillon GMT – PAM00600, which is loved not only for its aesthetics, but also for the added complication of having the minute repeater function managed through a single button. These watches are all hugely popular, and with Jean-Marc at the helm as CEO, we definitely intend to continue to broaden our foothold within the high-end complications till we reach the level of representation we deserve.