Devil’s Advocate: Panerai for Ferrari FER015 Perpetual

As America’s Independence Day approaches, revelers turn to time-honored holiday traditions. Classic combos like baseball and haggis, hot dogs and mayo, and watermelon-quinine smoothies. Those always hit the spot.

Ok, snarky analogies aside, it’s time to reconsider the divisive and fraught 2005-2010 union of Panerai and Ferrari. A corporate-mandated shotgun marriage from marketing hell, the co-branding announcement was greeted with lukewarm enthusiasm by both parties and their respective followings. Neither true to Panerai’s SPECWAR military heritage nor relevant to Ferrari’s motorsports legacy, the resulting watches never received a fair shake from either fan base.

And that’s a shame, because the Panerai for Ferrari line deserves recognition for taking Panerai style, value, and personality far beyond the company’s comfort zone. While the FER line will never rival the PAM pantheon of 3646s, 6152s, or even latter day legends like the 021, here are four reasons why it might be smart to bet long on Panerai’s “testa rossa” stepchildren:

1. Rarity. Oh, that gets attention fast. Consider that Panerai now delivers an estimated 70,000+ units per year. The days of Paneristi gathering by the tens in web forums tantamount to online clubhouses are long gone. With mainstream success comes the price of a higher profile, fewer secret handshakes, and product volumes to rival fellow Richemont inmates IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Limited editions aside, Panerais are now mainstream watches with mainstream availability.

Of course, anything that is out of production becomes a “limited edition” by default. In any given year, Panerai built comparatively few of the “Ferraris.” For example, this 60th Anniversary Ferrari Special Edition FER 015 perpetual calendar is one of only 247 units built in 2007. Notably, other references were built in 300, 400, 500, and 800-unit runs.

The production volumes of these Ferrari models were planned and executed on a scale that seems like a throwback to the earliest post-Vendome days, when model runs were measured in the hundreds and the idea of a 100,000 unit model year seemed like a joke, not an inevitability. Plus, if there’s anything we’ve learned from the Rolex market, it’s that rarity trumps all, including taste, sense, and Madonna aversions in the long run.

2. Uniqueness. In the short term, the Panerai faithful couldn’t get their hearts and minds around the “for Ferrari” watches. Of course, consider point #1, and recall that we’re looking at a market in which Luminor and Radiomir variants have become ubiquitous. With two fundamental case types and a handful of size variations on each, Panerai has done a remarkable job hewing to the historical standards. But there comes a saturation point.

As new collectors are drawn to Panerai brand, they will bring fewer preconceived notions of what a Panerai should be. Having grown up with Bronzos, Radiomir 1940 chronographs, and rose gold Luminors, the new crowd may be more willing to experiment, especially on the pre-owned market. The radically different Ferraris could become a cult item. The unique cases, knurled crowns, elaborate dials, and movement decoration of the Ferrari line are distinct from the brand’s bedrock “military surplus.” Bonus: these watches give Paneristi an excuse to buy an entirely new class of straps.

To be sure, the bright colors, corresponding straps, and motorsports-themed styling of the “for Ferrari” Panerais have no place in the safety deposit boxes of the old guard Paneristi. If the sea change comes, it will come in the form of a new generation of Panerai collectors. Just remember, there was a time when 6238-6265 Paul Newman Daytonas were considered infinitely less desirable than 31mm Datejusts, and Panerai watches in general used to be surplus MILSPEC you bought at Italian flea markets.

3. Cool Complications. As a group, the Panerai for Ferrari watches feature an incredible density of desirable complications. Once again, consider our FER015 perpetual calendar. Other than its FER016 rose gold cousin (60 were made), can you name another Panerai with a perpetual calendar? Nope. And the Agenhor module that powers the 015/016 won’t find its way into any more Panerai products since the ETA 7750 base movement has been phased out of the company’s plans.

And that’s only an appetizer. Flyback chronographs, rattrapantes with foudroyant dials, eight-day GMT monopusher chronographs, and GMT alarms are languishing at the rock bottom of the pre-owned Panerai market – and all because they have an erstwhile desirable horse logo stamped on them. While not all of the complications in the “for Ferrari” line are exclusive to the line, the combination of elaborate movements and bottom-of-the-PAM-market pricing currently create a fantastic opportunity to get one’s hands on a complicated Panerai.

4. Precedent. That’s right, Panerai has another shared history with vehicles that don’t float, and the pre-owned market doesn’t seem to mind. Consider this blast from the past, a tribute to German cars, no less. It’s almost a modern-day spiritual successor to the “Kampfschwimmer!” Well, sorta.

The point is that the union of Benz and Panerai makes even less sense than Panerai for Ferrari, yet the collectors are beginning to answer the call. Time heals all wounds, and our trifecta of auto branding, rarity, and a cool complication already has spawned a proof-of-concept collectible, car-branded Panerai in the PAM108. In the case of the PAM 108, rarity and unique specification have allowed a $28,000 MSRP to recover over 70 percent of its original value despite venturing outside the comfort zone of Panerai traditionalists.

All that, and the PAM 108 is a rather small Panerai at 40mm. The robust case sizes of the Ferraris (generally 45mm) are more in tune with current tastes – yet another reason to be optimistic about their future prospects.

Consider that the once $29,800 FER015 can be had for under $8,000, and you see a market excess that cannot last. As new collectors join the Panerai scene and the uniqueness of the FER line begins to dawn on the new school of Paneristi, it would be safe to bet that engaging and rare perpetual calendar Panerais will not continue to trade at less than one quarter of original MSRP.

And… off my soapbox I step…

Yes, even the Devil needs an advocate.

While the faithful may have recoiled at the notion of a cynical, automotive-inspired branding deal, the execution of Panerai for Ferrari exceeds expectations in almost every respect. Taken on their own terms, the watches are buoyant in spirit, unique, and built to the same post-Vendome Panerai standards as their paramilitary peers. In hindsight, the collector community may have overreacted to the notion of a Panerai that couldn’t pull double duty as an impromptu brass knuckle.

With rarity, unique style, unusual complications, and depressed prices (for now) on their side, the Panerai for Ferrari watches could sneak up on the future collector market as the kind of performers Ferraris themselves never could be: low profile “sleepers.” Buckle Up.