Panerai’s Jérôme Cavadini reflects on 30 years of innovation, resilience and the AI revolution in luxury watchmaking
With over three decades in the watchmaking industry, including 11 years at Panerai, Jérôme Cavadini has witnessed and shaped pivotal moments in the watchmaking world. From the brand’s bold decision to develop in-house movements under Angelo Bonati’s leadership to navigating the challenges of becoming a full-fledged manufacture, Panerai has consistently pushed boundaries. The brand’s resilience was further tested during the Covid-19 crisis, showcasing its commitment to employees and adaptability under pressure.
Today, the Italian watchmaker continues to innovate, embracing emerging technologies like AI to refine processes while exploring new materials and complications. Cavadini reflects on these advancements with a mix of optimism and caution, pondering the philosophical implications of AI in luxury goods. His insights reveal not only Panerai’s technical prowess but also its dedication to heritage, sustainability and creating timeless designs that resonate with discerning collectors worldwide.
Tatler sits down with him to dig deeper into these topics on his recent visit to Hong Kong.
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Panerai manufacture (Photo: courtesy of Panerai)
When did you first become aware of the watch industry, and when did you realise you wanted to work in it?My first connection to watches was during the Swatch revolution in 1983 when I was 12, 13 years old. It was at that time that Nicolas [Hayek] launched the Swatch project, which was revolutionary for the Swiss watch Industry. We all witnessed how Swatch created fancy watches at affordable prices, [which was impressive,] especially during a challenging period impacted by the quartz crisis between 1975 and 1980. I started in [the watch industry in] 1995. I initially joined for a three-month training period with a watchmaking company. What was supposed to be a temporary assignment for me became a 30-year career. As I often say, the problem with this industry is that once you’re in, it’s hard to imagine working in another field because the products are so fascinating.
What has been the most surprising lesson you’ve learnt about the watch industry?The importance of networking. I always maintained my professional connections, leaving previous roles [on a good note] and maintaining relationships. Despite being a smaller brand, Panerai benefits from interactions with other watch companies. We exchange information and act as a community, which I deeply cherish.
What do you feel have been the major challenges at the brand since its inception?We have had three big challenges. The first [was before I joined]. Mr [Angelo] Bonati decided to [stop using movements made by competitors] and invest a lot of money into our own in-house movements. That was a key decision. His idea was very clear: we cannot continue to grow and sell expensive watches with the same engine as [other] brands. It took years and years, and it cost a lot of money as well; but we did well on this. The Rubicon had been crossed; that was a big turning point. The second was to decide to become a manufacturer—so not only to develop the movement but also to produce it. [The brand opened its manufacture building ten years ago.]
The third and toughest one was the Covid crisis. On March 18, 2020, I remember all the factories closing around us. We had all the staff coming to us saying, “What do we do? Brand [manufactures] are closing; we should close.” The management and leadership were put on the spot. There was no [rule] book for this. We decided to protect the employees and close the manufacture, not thinking about the costs involved. At first we thought we would be back to work in a week’s time, but it took a lot more than that. We were lucky that we belong to a group [Richemont] and we listened to the group’s instructions.
Panerai manufacture (Photo: courtesy of Panerai)
How is Panerai approaching emerging technologies like AI?On the commercial side, new technological tools are creating massive amounts of data. As soon as we can understand and exploit these data points, we get smarter and improve our business and client relationships.
Take sales forecasting as an example. It’s all about producing the right watch at the right moment for the right [consumer]. It’s fundamentally about numbers, where you aggregate extensive data by looking at the past and trying to predict the future. This might be linked to Federal Reserve announcements or gold price speculations. We introduce algorithmic bias, considering potential scenarios: if something happens, what quantities should we target, what stock levels, what production levels? Without these AI algorithms, we couldn’t calculate so many variables so quickly. It’s simply impossible.
When it comes to machining, we observe data extensively. We can anticipate when a tool might break or need changing, even predicting potential nighttime failures. For instance, we might program a machine to change a tool after 220 pieces, even if it still works, to prevent potential breakage in the next 30 pieces.
We’ve experimentally tried generative AI—even asking a computer to design a new Panerai watch for fun. So far, the results are not impressive. From a philosophical perspective, with increasing warnings about AI-generated content and companies like Google developing detection algorithms, I wonder about luxury’s future. Can we genuinely sell a device meant to last generations that was entirely created by computer software? Honestly, I’m not certain I would buy such a watch.
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Panerai Submersible ELux PAM01800 (Photo: courtesy of Panerai)
Panerai is known for its innovations. Why is the Submersible Elux an important addition to the brand’s portfolio of watches?It’s been a long journey to create something that looks simple, which is the most challenging aspect of watchmaking. Our goal was to create luminosity for a couple of seconds, leveraging our brand’s expertise in light. We wanted to transmit energy from mechanical to electrical sources without using batteries, which seemed impossible initially due to component size limitations.
Over five years, we slowly solved these challenges by incorporating new technologies like micro-LEDs and a blue Ti-Ceramitech [material]. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle of technology; it was like a miracle, with each year resolving another technical element. The result was a complex technology that appears deceptively simple—which for us means we’ve succeeded.
What would be your dream Panerai watch?I’m a bit nostalgic, so I would go back to the past. I am in love with the PAM 372, which used to be a bestseller. I bought the left- handed version, which is super nice. I also love watches from the [Panerai] museum. I would go back to the museum, look at the watches we have—and we have some very nice ones—and try to take advantage of this heritage and build something around this, reinterpret it. It’s something that we might consider, and that would be super cool, because all our history comes back to this. It’s an infinite source of inspiration.
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