What do you get when an Italian watchmaker teams up with a dream car manufacturer to create timepieces? MARTIN VENGADESAN finds out in Hong Kong.
WHILE adventurer Mike Horne is perhaps the best-known face of Officine Panerai and Slyvester Stallone is the guy whose interest helped revive the luxury watch brand, one man alone can claim to be its driving force.
That man is Angelo Bonati, who, in a decade of being in charge of the brand, has overseen Panerai's evolution from dormant fringe player to respected competitor in an exclusive field.
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The Panerai story is an oft-told one of how a specialist watch shop in Florence (which opened in the early 20th century) suddenly sprung to prominence by creating the first military divers' watch. The Panerai Radiomir debuted in 1938.
After keeping a low profile for a few decades following that launch, the brand was revived by Stallone's request in 1995 for a very limited series of the Panerai Luminor and Mare Nostrum named Slytech – engraved with the actor's signature no less.
Since its acquisition by the Richemont Group in 1997, Panerai has grown by leaps and bounds while maintaining its commitment to exclusivity. Bonati has been at the helm of the brand since that year and a few weeks ago, he was the star of the show as Panerai unveiled the newest jewels in its crown during a function in Hong Kong.
Panerai has teamed up with Italian giants Ferrari to produce a line of exclusive watches: With prices ranging from RM26,000 to RM42,700, the Ferrari Granturismo Rattrapante, Ferrari Granturismo Chronograph and Ferrari Scuderia Rattrapante are cutting edge watches that match their lofty price tags.
In a private interview before the launch of these timepieces, Bonati was effusive about the brand's triumphs.
When you look back on your term as CEO of Panerai, how do you feel about it?
AB: I look back at it full of satisfaction. When we started we had nothing ... just one watch. When you look at what happened the last nine years, how much I worked and how much we as a team worked, we were able to produce something special. If we can continue in the next 10 years as we have done for the last nine, then we will have done very well.
Does it compromise Panerai's “Italian nature” if the watch is manufactured in Switzerland?
AB: In the beginning, Panerai was an Italian artisan. Modern day Panerai provides the design and concept but the movement is realised in Switzerland. You have watchmakers in Italy, but maybe not so many watch repairers. If Panerai made shoes then we would have no problem, but because we make watches, we have to do it in Switzerland.
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What does Panerai stand for?
AB: It is a brand full of values and history. In Mike Horne, we have a man who is an ambassador for nature and a man who represents a lot of values. For me, everything is part of the brand. We don't identify Slyvester Stallone or Mike Horne or Angelo Bonati as Panerai. It is the result of teamwork.
What do you share with Ferrari?
AB: Panerai is an Italian brand and so is Ferrari. We have many common values – design, speed, excellence, passion, working on technological advances all the time. We try to add to the quality of our watch. Ferrari and Panerai are the right combination of brands. The interests are convergent.
Ferrari was looking for somebody who can provide them with business. Their main goal is to protect the brand with the right standards. At Panerai, we realised the standard of our watches is compatible with Ferrari's standards. We made them a proposal and they accepted. We did not take an existing watch and just put a Ferrari logo on it. This is an important investment.
Who gets to make the final decision?
AB: The final decision is Panerai's. We work very closely on the concept, but all the designs are ours. Sometimes we collaborate with them on details, like how best to include the motifs of the car or details such as dials based on the dashboard of the car. Our goal is clearly to realise Ferrari watches, not Panerai watches with Ferrari labels.
What is Panerai's main challenge in coming years?
AB: The main challenge is to develop the business. We need to have success. We cannot fail. Ferrari cannot fail. We have to continue the tradition of winners. We have a lot of projects, but I cannot reveal everything. We plan for a minimum of five to six years ahead.
The production capacity of Panerai is still very small, partly as a result of the brand's philosophy which emphasises quality and exclusivity. Will that change?
AB: Yes, our production capacity is very limited. But we try to develop within our limits. It is part of our business model to offer quality but in small quantities. Every year we try to produce a bit more, because if you do not grow, then you die.
What sort of changes can we expect then?
AB: There will never be anything too radical. There will never be a move away from stainless steel. From time to time we put platinum or gold, but we are a sports brand and basically we work with this in mind.
When we change, we change small things, maybe because of technical problems. But we never change the philosophy, the tradition of Panerai is strong and always respected. When wearing a watch you should be able to tell the time easily. With some of our earlier models, they were great in terms of aesthetics, but it was not so easy to read the time, so that we fixed!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and how you represent Panerai and its Italian values?
AB: I am Italian by my passion. The Italian man is very complicated. We love football, wine, cars, women. We love life and try to live it the best way. We try to be happy, also to be elegant.
Can you tell us a little bit more about your upcoming models?
AB: I am not ready to talk about the new models. One thing I can tell you about Panerai ... it is always more than the previous year and less than the coming year.
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