An exclusive one-to-one with Panerai’s CEO Signore Angelo Bonati

Lara Mansour   |   08-09-2016

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I’ve always known that he rarely gives out interviews, however it was always an objective to meet the man behind the Florentine born brand known for its exclusive design and deep-rooted links to the sea.  Earlier this year we met in Geneva during SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie). Passion for Panerai, destiny, and thinking of the future were the highlight of our “from the heart” chat.

Looking around today and seeing all those novelties, what do you think the market still lacks?

I’ve heard apparently that there are a lot of watch brands that are trying to go back to simplicity. The market is not so enthusiastic. In my opinion the brands are trying to present something new. You see a lot of classic and less sporty watches except for brands like IWC and Panerai.

All brands are looking for quality. We have to always propose something different but qualitative.

With the current market slowdown, what’s your strategy to sustain a healthy market share?

The economy is always in an up and down mode. Today it is narrow but hysteric. There is a lot of pressure: Financial crisis, terrorism, etc. and with the Chinese market declining in terms of economy, together all this is creating a major difficulty.

When people look in a shortsighted manner they get worried. To many it will be like money in my pocket than being on my wrist. But personally I think luxury is volatile and it is emotional. There is always the tendency where people feel they want to work hard to buy something or achieve something. Despite the current momentum, am still positive.

You’ve built the Panerai legacy and you’ve been the CEO since 20 years, what is an objective you still aim to achieve?

It is simple! My goal from the start was to create and establish the timelessness of the brand and I want to continue doing that. Why? Because people will change but the brand stays.

When the brand doesn’t have the proper awareness, people wont believe in it and will have no emotions or will to buy it. That’s my future vision.

Who is your Panerai Customer?

From the beginning the Panerai customers are diverse. He could be a simple employee who is saving money to get a Panerai watch or a millionaire. The age is from 25 to 50 as a core. We also have 60 and 70 years old customers.

2 days a go we had an 18 year old Chinese customer who is a student living in London. He was wearing a million euro Richard Mille watch and he was asking for our Tourbillion watch. Just to let you know, today the world is changing enormously. The people who have money spend and the people that don’t have money are saving to obtain what we have.

Tell us how you and Panerai came together?

Listen.  Do you believe in Destiny? Well, destiny wanted to push me to Panerai.

In a particular moment of my life, the first time I saw Panerai was at Piazza Duomo in Milan. It was a no brand. It was a watch, an enormous, and a kind of military watch.

I called a friend of mine in Naples that day and told him: “why don’t we create a small company and distribute this watch”? Three days later he calls me back saying:  “forget it, Richemont is buying this brand and you can’t compete with that”. I knew he was right!

Don’t forget that at one point I was at Richemont working for Cartier but I left the group in order to have another international experience, so I worked with Richard Ginori porcelain and in Fashion with Trussardi.

One week later I got a call from Dr. Franco Cologni at Richemont where he had been closely involved with the Group’s watch brands, and asked me to come and see him because he had a new project he wanted to show me. He told me I’d be much better suited to the watch business than the porcelain business and said: “ why don’t you come back and work for this new brand”? He offered me the CEO position and I agreed on the spot. And that was how the story started.

What was your first watch?

It was a very thin 3mm rectangular Longines. It was a watch that I took from my cousin, as he never used it and I kept it for 3 years before returning it back.

My second one was a Seiko in 1970 because at that time the new electronic movement was dominating the markets; the Japanese companies destroyed the mechanical watch.

Then I landed on a Cartier watch followed by a Rolex.

What watch are you wearing today?

Radiomir 1940.

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RADIOMIR 1940

You don’t appear much in media, why is that?

I think if you appear too much, people will lose interest! That’s my philosophy.

I am not Panerai, I am Mr. Bonati and I don’t want people to mix my person with the brand.

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LUMINOR DUE Brand new case launched by Panerai this year.

But Panerai is a piece of you and has your DNA! You are its driving force, you’ve put so much years and passion.

Don’t say that! As I told you before, the brand should be timeless and the star not the person behind it. The brand gives the emotion not Bonati!

It is true I worked hard. It was the best experience of my life. And there was never a distinction between my job and my life. My job is my life!

I am working for the brand like a soldier, he can be a hero but he’s doing it for his nation.

How do you spend your free time when you have it?

With the IPhone and technology, work follows you everywhere. But when I have sometime, I love to stay on my boat or at my country house in the center of Italy in Tuscany overseeing the sea.

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What is your personal motto?

I always love thinking about the future not the present or the past. Present for me is past and the past is gone. Thinking of the future keeps you active!

Last word.

Continue to love Panerai because it is the best.

By Lara Mansour Sawaya

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