“THIS YEAR THE FOCUS HAS BEEN ON SUSTAINABILITY.”
Jean-Marc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai, on the future of the watch industry and why the brand is opening up a whole new chapter by revisiting how they produce watches.
Aveteran of the haute horology industry, Jean-Marc Pontroué began his career in the leather goods industry. In his two decades with Richemont, he has worked with Montblanc, and before taking charge of Panerai in 2018 he headed Roger Dubuis for six years.
What are your predictions for the watch industry in the next 2-3 years?
We will hopefully see a strong return to normality very quickly; in countries where the covid cases are lower, we are already witnessing a swift and strong return to normalcy. People are very keen to meet again, celebrate again, and are longing for things to return to normal. I am very positive that as more and more people get vaccinated and things get back to normal the watch-making industry and Panerai will bounce back.
Panerai has always been on the front when it comes to material development, so what are the exciting developments for 2021 and beyond when it comes to exotic materials?
This year the focus has been on sustainability and as a result, we have developed two new materials eco titanium and eco steel. We have also launched the Submersible e-LAB-ID concept that is the very first watch in the industry that is almost 100 per cent recycled—98.6 per cent to be precise. The case, the dial, and bridges are made from eco-titanium, whereas the hands and indices make use of 100 per cent recycled SuperLumiNova and the balance spring is made from fully recycled silicone. We work with 10 different suppliers from across the world and half of them are not even from the watch industry. At the same time, we are very happy and proud to push the concept of recycling thus far.
The e-LAB-ID is a very interesting and promising product. Does it change the way Panerai weighs sustainability and aesthetics?
The e-LAB-ID is a concept that is created by literally pushing the limits and it gives vision to what we want to achieve in the long term. It’s more like a learning process for us. The watch industry has been producing watches using the same principles for 300 years now and today in 2021, we are opening a whole new chapter by revisiting how we produce our watches.
How soon can we see a mainstream Panerai watch made from 100 per cent recycled materials?
When we started this project the price point was not something that we had in mind. For example, the new Luminor Marina eSteel consists of 58.5 per cent recycled materials and it is priced at 8,500 Euros compared to 60,000 Euros for the Submersible e-LAB-ID concept. We are continuing to work on research and development to try and make our watches as sustainable as possible.
Two years ago Panerai started selling watches with experiences, how has the response been?
Experiences are very close to my heart, and it is something we will continue in the future as well. Owing to the current pandemic and travel restrictions, we had to postpone all the programmes and experiences till we begin to travel. The experiences have created a lot of interest: Two years back we had 33 people who joined us to do 48 hours of training with an elite unit of the Italian navy. We had 15 people who experienced diving in Tahiti, French Polynesia. All of them loved it. For the next year, we have designed around 6-8 unique experiences across the world.
Do you foresee a future where retailers would be selling watches through traditional stores as well as retain virtual conferencing?
Well, we are already thinking of the world in 2022 and I surely believe a Zoom call cannot replace any emotional feedback we get when we meet personally. However, the future of watch fairs and retail will be a mix of the physical presence and digital interviews like we are conducting now.
Panerai has two boutiques in India, what are your plans for expansion and e-commerce?
We are following the development of India very carefully. With its population, GDP growth, and increasing awareness, we believe India will become one of Panerai’s largest markets in the years to come. Today, the brand is very strong in India and we have new boutiques planned for the immediate future. We will soon confirm an e-commerce presence in India as well.