[lecorsaire]

The Panerai market is really soft at the moment. Whether it recovers is something that is not guaranteed. Unfortunately there has been a loss of interest as well as a flood of nearly identical replicas from China causing this problem. The BLNR is a great watch and a smart purchase. I can't praise it enough! However market prices on your PAM might recover. If you don't mind losing a couple grand to get into a watch that will hold its value at worst and appreciate in the long term at best go for it! Buy the BLNR new. The spread is so small (smaller than the Hulk even) it's not worth buying it 2nd hand, maybe not even brand new without the warranty for a $4-500 discount. Also do it before a price increase! It's been priced at $8950 since 2013. I can't see that price lasting that much longer and no one knows how much longer it will be in production. They can introduce a Coke and discontinue the BLNR. Only Rolex knows.

I know that value retention shouldn't be the main driver in a watch purchase otherwise people would only buy sports Rolex and Patek but it is always an added benefit it what you like also happens to perform well. If someone likes Datejusts and Day-Dates they shouldn't buy Subs, GMTs and Daytonas just because those don't depreciate like the former. However some purchases are clearly better than others. For example: BLNR was LN. Retail is just a $500 difference but there can be a nearly $2k difference when reselling. Patek 5711 white dial vs. blue dial. Same price but blue is a lot more valuable. Royal Oak 15400st, again blue is a lot more valuable than white or black but also no discounts are available on the GM. Unless money is not a concern at all, it's wise to take these things into account.