Can’t stand Panerai watches.
For me, it's a love-hate relationship. I don't like them but I enjoy wearing one from time to time, if that makes sense lol. They are surprisingly comfortable.
Before Stallone popularized them, nobody gave a shit about that Italian brand.
I like tool watches and I like the brand's military history. Up until 1956, all of the Panerai cases and movements were assembled by Rolex, and Panerai’s Italian office modified them to suit military requirements.
The Raid on Alexandria in 1941 is an interresting case : 6 Italian Navy frogmen ''rode' torpedoes like underwater motorcycles ( the submersibles were nicknamed “pigs”) and put British battleships out of commission, which almost changed the course of the war.
The divers steered their explosive cargo to established targets and detached mines from the front of their torpedoes and attached them to the hull of their opponents’ battleships.
Two British battleships,
HMS Valiant and
HMS Queen Elizabeth, were seriously damaged and put out of commission until major repairs were made. Britain gave up its naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean for many months.
Their Radiomir watches were crucial timekeeping tools.