Dive Into Panerai With watchuwant.com Founder OJ Whatley

• • Officine Panerai watches inspire passion, admiration, and an ever-growing fraternity of “Paneristi” fans.

• • When getting started with the Panerai brand, expert guidance helps buyers find their ideal matches.

• • watchuwant.com CEO/Founder OJ Whatley has been collecting and selling Panerai for over 15 years.

• • A recognized Panerai authority who has bought and sold over 10,000 examples, OJ shares his thoughts on “starting with Panerai“

• • #1 “Do I want an auto or manual-winder?” #2 “Do I want a date indicator?”

Few watches electrify observers and inspire collector passion like the timepieces of Officine Panerai. The brand’s military heritage and “form-follows-function” mantra first captured the public imagination in the late 1990s –  and never let go. Big, bold, authentic, and audacious, Panerai is equal parts watchmaker and lifestyle.

But the same intrigue that drives interest in the Swiss-Italian house leads to a common question among prospective “Panerisi”; where do I start? Naturally, start with an expert guide.

OJ Whatley turned his passion for the Panerai universe into watchuwant.com, the global leader in buying, selling, and trading of luxury watches. From advising first-time Panerai buyers to building his own collection to catching counterfeiters red-handed, OJ has done it all. In this, the first of a series on choosing a first Panerai, OJ shares his insights – and enthusiasm – with new admirers of the watchmaker from Firenze.

Automatic or manual? This may not be the most intuitive initial fork in the road to one’s first PAM, but OJ cannot over-emphasize how the auto/manual divide alters the Panerai ownership experience. In this case, the reason has everything to do with personal style and routines.

A watch is a constant companion, and for a timepiece as versatile as a Panerai, this goes double. Because Panerai’s lineup includes large numbers of both winding systems, there is no “default” option imposed by selection, so it pays to take an inventory of one’s lifestyle before committing.

Selecting an automatic watch will ensure a virtual “set-it-and-forget-it” ownership experience. Autos, or self-winding watches, produce mainspring energy from wrist motion, and they sustain themselves day to day without intervention. For sheer convenience, this arrangement is tough to beat. Automatic Panerai watches feature a power reserve (run time) that ensures the mechanism of the watch will endure through the night without winding.

OJ is partial to automatic Panerais. “While many people appreciate the ritual of winding their watches on a regular basis and consider this ‘quality time,’ others including myself see it as an inconvenience. Generally, I wind my manual Panerais when they stop running on my wrist,” OJ relates.

Moreover, recent Panerais with “manufacture” (Panerai brand exclusive) movements often include an indicator to display the remaining run time. OJ advises that late model automatic Panerais enjoy three to ten-day reserves which make them ideal candidates for owners who already have a rotation of watches.

PAM owners who prefer not to wind an unworn watch are best-served by an automatic PAM with a big “tank.” For example: a PAM335 (Luminor 1950 10-Days GMT Ceramic) swapped for a formal alternative on Monday morning will be ready to rejoin the fun on Friday night without missing a beat.

Although it is a minor consideration, OJ considers it worth noting that users who plan to wear a Panerai for extensive water sports can gain extra security from the automatic winder; when the crown seal is undisturbed, a watch will retain water-tight integrity longer than if frequently wound.

Historical purists and those who enjoy frequent interaction with their watches should consider the manual Panerai models. These units are true to the original military dive watches of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, which always employed hand-wound movements.

Just as the government-issue SPECWAR models employed pocket watch movements from Rolex and Angelus, the contemporary Panerai line features oversized manual mechanisms to recreate the look and feel of the legends.

Aside from the potentially entertaining experience of operating the winder every two-to-eight days (depending on movement), the manual wind watches tend to be thinner than their automatic counterparts, which has a positive impact on a watch’s compatibility with smaller wrists. Moreover, many late-model Panerai watches feature sapphire display casebacks, and the manual-wind movements are far more visible than the automatic versions, which often hide under their winding apparatus.

After committing to an auto or manual, the next major decision involves personal preference for a date window. While a minor complication from a mechanical standpoint, the presence of a date function has enormous impact on the aesthetics of a Panerai. Date windows can be more or less prominent on Panerai watches from model to model, but the distinction between date and no-date PAMs always is a stark one.

OJ notes that historic sticklers will choose a Panerai without a date. None of the tactical offerings of yore included a date window. Given the hours-long duration of elite force missions, this made sense, and mechanical simplicity is a military mantra. Moreover, the no-date look is a clean one. After the distinctive cases, high-viz dials are Panerai’s unique calling card.

The large fonts, elemental indexes, and spare details of PAM combat model have endured through multiple decades, corporate owners, and designs, so many collectors consider minimal clutter essential to the Panerai experience.

A counterpoint to this view holds that the modern Panerai is irreverent, fun, and practical, and purist dogmas don’t apply. Many steel, titanium, and ceramic Panerai watches are practical enough to use daily for work and play.

Given this type of versatility, easy reference  to a date indicator takes on special appeal, and many veteran PAM collectors have no qualms about sporting a date window on their daily drivers. Personal preference rules the day where dates are concerned.

While not universal, many Panerai automatic movements are coupled with date windows; this is a great advantage since owners who prioritize convenience often prefer both features.

Twenty-one years and over 350 models since its public debut, Panerai has created a mammoth catalog of options for collectors. While this can appear daunting, consider it an embarrassment of riches.

The depth of options and broad price spectrum in the pre-owned market means there has never been a better time to get started with Panerai. By making a few self-assessments at the start of one’s Panerai adventure, the destination will be more rewarding.

The next installment of OJ Whatley’s introduction to Panerai will cover two fundamental facets of the PAM ownership experience: case size and strap options… stay tuned.