Nobody buys a luxury watch for practical purposes. Sure they can justify a diver or a chronograph because it might be useful at some point in the far-flung future, but let’s be honest it’s more a lifestyle choice than it is a functional one. That’s fine of course; it’s the horological equivalent of buying a hypercar. You’re never going to hit that 300mph, but it’s nice to know it’s there.
Where most watch brands fall down though is making that lifestyle a reality. Whereas a supercar marque can get collectors on the track to really push their cars, what can a watchmaker do? A tour of the manufacture? Well, Florentine-slanted nautical watchmaker Panerai is taking a more extreme approach.
“We wanted to offer our customers something that goes beyond just buying a watch,” explains Jean-Marc Pontroué. “To allow them to experience the Panerai DNA and test their watch in the most extreme conditions.”
It’s something Jean-Marc has taken incredibly seriously since signing onto the diving watch legend back in 2018. At SIHH 2019, Panerai celebrated the revamp of the Luminor Submersible collection with a handful of limited editions that came with a experiential package attached.
“We wanted it to feel like you were getting a ticket to something money can’t buy. You pay for the watch and included with it you get a tailormade experience that’s not in any catalogues.”
In the case of the Guillaume Nery Edition, that meant taking a plunge in French Polynesia with the freediving champion; for the Mike Horn edition, it meant a trip with the arctic explorer.
They all sound pretty extreme, but as Jean-Marc puts it, “If it’s not hard enough you won’t remember it; if it’s too hard you will remember it but not for good reasons. It’s a careful balance between adrenaline and fun.” And of course plenty of wining and dining along the way.
The first of the experiences though, the one that set the tone and the one that was the most ‘Panerai’ of the lot was training with the COMSUBIN, the commandos of the Italian Navy, with which the watchmaker shares a good deal of history.
Arranging two days of training at a military installation is easier said than done and even the Panerai name struggles to open some doors. When Jean-Marc first mooted the idea to the COMSUBIN, they rejected it straight away. Civilians, at a military installation? Training? But eventually, they started to think about it.
“It helped that we were interested in their way of living,” says Jean-Marc of the negotiations. “The fact that we are promoting their training approach, that preparation of body and mind. They could see the synergy as we could.”
Needless to say that the military finally gave the go-ahead for Panerai to organise their event – with some caveats. “There were certain things and certain people that we weren’t allowed to photograph”, says Jean-Marc of the working military installation. It’s not surprising.
With so many collectors there – all of, let’s say, a certain status – you’d expect a little bit of competition going on. “Of course! Nobody wants to look stupid in front of the COMSUBIN. But there wasn’t a competition as such – there was nothing to win. It was all about the beauty of experiencing something nobody else ever has.”
Obviously the events of 2020 have set back Panerai’s ambitions a little; it’s hard to create a portfolio of globe-trotting experiences when you can’t leave the country. But as far as Jean-Marc’s concerned, the sky’s the limit:
“If everything goes well we’ll have six to eight experiences for about 250 people across 2021. One will be heading the North Pole with Mike Horn, spending ten hours trekking across parts of the world where only he has been; then there’s the final of the America’s Cup with Luna Rossa in New Zealand.”
As far as Jean-Marc’s concerned though, that’s only the beginning. “Now every country wants its own experience and, if there’s the synergy there we’re open to the idea, of course.”
So does that mean that we in the UK will be getting our own limited edition Panerai, complete with life-changing experience? “We need to create a watch, we need to find a location and we need to find the right ambassador, someone that reflects Panerai’s philosophies – the British Army, a sports person… More important than anything is that whatever we do reflects the Panerai lifestyle.” And what a lifestyle it is.
