Cover Panerai CEO Jean‑Marc Pontroué (Photo: Panerai)
Panerai CEO Jean‑Marc Pontroué (Photo: Panerai)
1 / 1
Panerai CEO Jean‑Marc Pontroué reflects on the most impactful initiatives he has introduced since stepping into the role five years ago, from exclusive owner experiences to sustainability programmes
This June, Panerai unveiled Casa Panerai, its new global flagship—and largest boutique to date—on Madison Avenue in New York. It is but one of several major milestones the Italian watch manufacturer has had in the past few years, especially since Jean‑Marc Pontroué joined as CEO in 2018.
With Pontroué at the helm, Panerai has opened about 100 boutiques around the world in the space of five years. This fiscal year alone, it will open 35 new stores. “We’re continuing to expand the brand’s visibility, which is much more spectacular than what we’ve had before,” Pontroué tells Tatler when he was in town this May to introduce Panerai’s 2023 novelties. “Ten years ago, the principle was still very much to be in multi‑brand stores, with just a couple of boutiques, but today, the focus is on our boutiques. It’s a big transformation and decision. The best platform to really showcase a brand today is through a mono‑brand platform.”
In case you missed it: Tatler Singapore kicks off the inaugural Tatler Watch Club event with Panerai
Above A Panerai experience with the Italian special forces in 2022 (Photo: Panerai)
A Panerai experience with the Italian special forces in 2022 (Photo: Panerai)
1 / 1
Not only is Pontroué growing the brand’s presence and visibility, he has also been nurturing its relationship with customers by offering them rare, once‑in‑a‑lifetime experiences only available through Panerai, such as free diving in Bora Bora with French free diving champion Guillaume Néry, and training with the Italian special forces. Each one of these unique experiences is tied to a limited‑edition Panerai watch, neither of which can be purchased independently.
“We were really the first brand to invent the concept of such experiences with a product four years ago, and they’ve been a very strong point of interest for customers,” says Pontroué. “We want to allow our customers to enjoy something that they can’t find in any travel magazine. You can’t go to the Navy Seals in America and say, ‘I want an experience with you’, but we can make that happen. These are the kinds of things we’re looking for.”
Above Panerai Submersible
Forze Speciali
Experience Edition (Photo: Panerai)
Panerai Submersible Forze Speciali Experience Edition (Photo: Panerai)
1 / 1
Panerai has a team of three people dedicated to curating such experiences, which happen about four or five times a year. “They spend their time coming up with the most crazy ideas and their guiding principle is ‘why not?’” enthuses Pontroué. “Next week, there’ll be an experience in Paris where 15 people will work with the anti‑terrorist forces for two days. And it’s not a training exercise; it’s real life.”
Pontroué himself has been on several of these experiences, usually once a year, to ensure that there are no major security concerns and that the trips are exciting enough. One of these was trekking with world‑renowned explorer Mike Horn in the North Pole. Horn has been a friend of the brand for more than two decades and is a passionate sustainability advocate. In fact, it was thanks to the South Africa‑born adventurer that Panerai introduced several of its sustainability initiatives in recent years.
“Mike was the one to alert us about the speed of the degradation of the environment,” says Pontroué. “Especially for us as a brand that has enjoyed our success thanks to our connection with the ocean, he encouraged us to take action and make sustainability a priority. That’s the beauty of working with people like Mike who are not in the same business as us; they shake your beliefs and provide new perspectives.”
Above As a brand whose legacy is inextricably connected to underwater exploration, improving ocean health is important to Panerai (Photo: Panerai)
As a brand whose legacy is inextricably connected to underwater exploration, improving ocean health is important to Panerai (Photo: Panerai)
1 / 1
In 2021, Panerai introduced a concept watch made with eSteel, an alloy incorporating recycled materials. This was meant to be a one‑off execution, but the brand has since announced a commitment to produce all of its steel models using eSteel by end‑2024—currently, about 35 to 45 per cent of its steel watches are made from eSteel, shares Pontroué. Furthermore, all of Panerai’s watches have been sold only in 100 per cent recycled packaging since the start of 2023.
“We know that by 2050, if we all have not made severe changes in our way of living, we will have lifetime consequences. The world is too beautiful not to invest some time to rethink the way we do our business,” says Pontroué, whose goal is for Panerai to take measurable action.
The brand recently partnered United Nations to be the official timekeeper of World Ocean Day on June 8. “I’m very proud to be the timekeeper, but that’s easy. I’m more proud to say that 800 Panerai employees and friends of the brand will spend two hours cleaning up plastic waste on June 8,” says Pontroué. Through this initiative, Panerai managed to clear 3.3 tonnes of plastic last year and the goal this year was to reach 10 tonnes, which it surpassed with the 13 tonnes eventually collected. The plan is to continue this annual tradition with a higher target each year: “Same mission, same date, bigger ambition.”
Annabel Tan is the Editor of Watches and Jewellery at Tatler Singapore, where she covers all things luxury timepieces and fine jewellery across both print and digital platforms. She is also the Editor of Tatler GMT Singapore, a role that deepens her fascination with the ever-evolving world of watchmaking. Outside of work, she’s usually on the hunt for her next favourite watch that she can’t afford, planning her next beach getaway, or catching up on the latest Formula 1 race.
