No matter how much I hassled my AD (and other people
) I was unable to get the coveted invite...but I'm working on them for next year. I don't give up easily...
SIHH is a trade show with thousands of AD's converging on a couple of exhibition halls at Geneva airport hoping to place orders for (principally) Richemont brands - JLC, IWC, Panerai, A. Lange und Sohne etc. and new this year, Ralph Lauren but sadly no news of the expected launch of the Sofia Loren Collection. A few Panerai 'friends' from another popular forum get time alotted to them to take photographs of the Panerai models for forum publication.
If I ever do get a chance to there I will obviously take photographs, but I doubt I'll get the 'out of display case' photos the 'paneristi' guys get. Still, there's not only Panerai in the world...
As an example of the current pulling power of Panerai, the 2009 re-edition is the 28 which was originally available in 1998/1999. It's unique in that it uses a SOPROD movement and has a seconds hand rather than a small seconds dial - add to this the fact that, as the original, it's PVD and you've got an interesting model. They will only produce 1000 and these were all allocated the first day (Monday) of the show!!!
This doesn't mean they've all been sold it just means that dealers have placed firm orders for the entire production, on day 1. I was fortunate enough to be able to reserve one, but it's likely that I will have to wait until the end of the year to be able to wear it, unlike the 300 series P.900x calibres which are already in production. Sig Bonati insisted on waiting until SIHH to announce them even though production actually started sometime in April last year. It's very likely that these will be available to the AD in March, which is astonishingly rapid for a new model from Panerai, and even more incredible when you consider it's a completely new movement.
The design of the P.900x movements is thought to have begun two or three years ago continuing on from the P.200x series, but I prefer to think it was probably a parallel project, as the ETA/Swatch situation was already on the books and with the P.200x series on the drawing board, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise the necessity and potential of the development of a smaller, cheaper in-house movement for the contemporary models.
From what has been stated on the web and personal enquiries I have made, this movement is being seen as a real breakthrough for Panerai as it enables them to offer 'reasonably' priced in-house alternatives to their existing 'manifattura' range.
This is having a double edged effect with regard to the 'paneristi' with some hailing this as the way forward, which it obviously has to be, and others complaining that the new cases are not 1950 enough or that the marriage of the 1950 case and a 'manifattura' movement goes away from the history of Panerai. In addition people are criticising the fact that the movement is automatic - to me this is taking historical accuracy to ridiculous ends...
I sometimes ask myself what exactly these latter people want - wouldn't it simply be better to carry a pocket sun dial - really bloody historic, in my view. From ancient times man has moved forward by evolutionary processes which teach us to learn and improve on what elready exists- so what's so different about developing a new watch movement, if of course it's going in the right direction - I think it's perfectly reasonable to put a P.2002 movement in the 341, although I personally can't see the point of producing the watch in the first place!
I think the future of Panerai is pretty much assured in terms of the technical merits, but I often ask why they make so many damn models. Rationalise Sig Bonati - you won't lose market share in the long term, but you will have a stronger product base.
I need a drink....
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