When talking about the best luxury watch brands in the world, two underrated names come to my mind: the Swiss watch brand, Breitling, and the Italian watch brand, Panerai. Since both are so well-crafted and highly recognized, it’s easy to compare the two brands and wonder which one comes out on top. Luckily, I have both a Panerai and Breitling on hand to compare for you side by side to see which one wins and which one I prefer.
Panerai provides a minimal and dressy design, while Breitling offers a more intricate and flashy look. Breitling is the more affordable brand: Breitling costs $3,311 on average, and Panerai costs $5,754 on average. Panerai watches generally have a simple dial, while Breitling watches feature a more complicated dial.
| Feature Comparison | Panerai | Breitling |
| Materials | – Generally use watch straps (high-end, premium leather/fabric or sport strap) over watch bracelets – Precious metal case (stainless steel, gold, bronze, etc.) | – Generally use watch bracelets (precious metal watch bands) over watch straps – Precious metal case (stainless steel, gold, etc.) |
| Watch Style | – Minimal – Dressy | – Bold – Flashy |
| Dial Design | – Simple | – Complex |
| Average Cost (second-hand market) | $5,754.22 | $3,311.00 |
| Which Is Best For You? | – Those with a larger budget – Those looking for a classy, formal, and simple luxury watch – Those with larger wrist sizes or those into larger watches | – Those looking for a bold and flashy timepiece – Those looking for a complex dial – Those who are looking to stand-out |
| My Overall Pick: | Breitling (but Panerai will always have a special place in my heart) |
Read on to view my full in-depth comparison between my own Panerai and Breitling watches, and which one I prefer out of the two.
Material Comparison
While both watch manufacturers use precious metal cases (i.e. steel, gold, etc.), Panerai generally uses formal watch straps (premium leather, fabric, or sport strap) over watch bracelets, while Breitling usually uses watch bracelets (metal linked watch band) over watch straps.
After looking through plenty of Panerai watches on the market and looking at my watches, it is obvious to see that Panerai generally prefers watch straps over watch bracelets, and you can test this yourself. You can look at their most popular watch models like the Radiomir, Luminor, and Submersible, and you can clearly see that the mass majority of Panerai watches are equipped with premium watch straps: whether it be leather, fabric, or sport strap.
I am personally a huge fan of the Panerai watch straps. They are super plush, comfortable, and luxurious that helps them stay near the top of the luxury watch market.
As for Breitling, I found that they generally prefer watch bracelets over watch straps. Similar to Panerai’s, if you look at some of their most popular models like the Chronomat, Superocean, and Wings, you can see that Breitling really likes to use precious metal watch bracelets, which is unlike the Panerai brand.
The terminology of a watch strap and a watch bracelet is often confused by those just getting into watches. To know the difference between both of them, you can check out my full article where I differentiate a watch strap and watch bracelet by clicking right here.
Next, both Panerai and Breitling have similar case materials: both brands generally use a high-quality precious metal for the cases of their watches. After using my own Panerai and Breitling watch, I personally love the case materials from both of these luxury watch brands since they’re durable, stylish, and reliable.
Comparing the materials between Breitling and Panerai, I would say that it’s a tie in my opinion. When you really compare the two watch brands, it’s always a given that you get very high-quality materials. With my Panerai watch, I absolutely love the crocodile leather strap and stainless steel case. On the other hand, Breitling has outstanding precious metal materials. To me, you really can’t go wrong with either brand in terms of watch materials.
Dial And Watch Design Comparison
Generally, Panerai watches provide a minimal, formal, and simple overall design, while Breitling offers a more complex, bold, and flashy overall design.
The Panerai watch that I have, which is a Luminor Daylight Chronograph, has a minimal black and white dial design, which really reflects Panerai as a brand overall: simple and classy. I find that this Panerai watch is my go-to watch whenever I go to important formal events like weddings, ceremonies, and other occasions like that.
Comparing Breitling and Panerai, I would say that I get complimented evenly between the two brands because they’re both beautiful watches. Whenever I wear my Panerai watch to formal events, individuals come up to me and spark conversations about Panerai and other watches. And when wear my Breitling out and about, I also get plenty of compliments as well about how I dress. This just shows how well-known and eye-catching both brands are.
If you are interested in checking out my full product review of my Breitling Wings Watch, you can click here to view it.
If you are interested in looking at my full product review of my Panerai Luminor Chronograph Daylight, you can click right here to view my full article.
As far as the movements go for both of their timepieces, both of them offer extremely similar watch movements. The Breitling Wings watch I have uses an in-house automatic ETA movement, which provides a pretty clean sweep with the big second’s hand for accurate timekeeping, and my Panerai has its own automatic in-house movement as well.
I think the reason why Breitling and Panerai became underrated is when they both started making moves that really upset watch enthusiasts (when Panerai made a watch with only 30 meters of water resistance, even though they’re known for having much more, and Breitling making collaboration watches for fashion brands). However, I think that both watch brands are pillars in the watch industry and still make high-quality timepieces compared to other brands.
To me, I personally like the Panerai overall design more than Breitling. I am more of a simple man, and Panerai watches are the exact same way, while Breitling is more flashy and bold. Even though I love the fashionable Breitling design, I feel like the Panerai design speaks to me more, which makes me put them in front of Breitling in terms of design.
Cost Comparison
Breitling is a more affordable brand than Panerai. The average price of Breitling is $3,311, while the average price of a Panerai watch is $5,754.22.
I attained these price points after I did my research comparing multiple different watch brands in another post. I found that on the second-hand market, the average price across all of the most popular Breitling models is just around $3,311. This average includes all of their most popular watch models like the Navitimer, the Avenger, Windrider, and more.
As for Panerai, their average price across all of their most popular watch models is $5,754.22: this average includes all of their popular models like the Radiomir, Luminor, GMT, and more. When I calculated their average price, I thought it was reasonable and made sense because of the horological history behind the brand and how much passion and craftsmanship they put behind their watches.
In my opinion, you get a much better bang-for-your-buck with Breitling. Breitling offers high-quality movements, craftsmanship, and materials just like Panerai, but you get it at almost half of the average price. The less you spend on a high-quality watch, the more room you’ll have in your budget to buy another high-quality timepiece for your collection, which explains why I would take the Breitling cost over Panerai.
If you want to see how Breitling and Panerai stack up against other luxury watch brands in the world, you can view my full in-depth article comparing 15 different luxury watch brands and their prices by clicking right here.
Which Is Best For You?
Panerai is the best option if you’re looking for a dressy, simple, and large watch. Breitling is the best option if you’re looking for a bold, stand-out timepiece with a complex dial.
Both Panerai and Breitling are two extremely well-known and recognizable watch brands, and it can be difficult to decide between the two of them. However, both brands have a distinct difference and both offer different styles that can help you decide.
Panerai is the better watch brand for you if you’re looking for a simple, yet elegant timepiece. I love the Panerai brand because it keeps me ready to look great for any formal event or occasion, and reflects who I am as a person overall. Since I’m more of a low-key and simple kind of guy, I feel like I really relate to the design of Panerai watches.
After scouring through many Panerai watches and using my own Panerai, I realized that basically all of their watches have a simple design with low-key colors, so if you’re someone like me who is really into a clean and simple design, then Panerai is the brand for you.
However, keep in mind that Panerai watches are rather large. The Panerai that I have in my collection has a whopping 44-millimeter case diameter and a 14.5-millimeter case thickness, which is larger than most watches out there on the market, and that’s not even the largest case diameter that Panerai has.
If you’re someone who has slimmer wrists or doesn’t want a massive watch on your wrist, then looking into a different watch brand would be the best move.
Breitling is best for those looking for a timepiece that’s flashy and bold with a complex dial. After owning my own Breitling for a while and looking at other Breitling watches, I found that their dial design is much more complex and vibrant compared to brands like Panerai.
If you’re someone who is looking to be bold, vibrant, and flashy, then Breitling would be the best brand to choose out of the two. After owning my Breitling watch, I found that it’s much more flashy and eye-catching than my Panerai watch because of the gold and stainless steel combination, which so many people like. This means that if you decide to wear a Breitling watch, you are pretty much guaranteed to stand out.
Panerai vs. Breitling: My Final Verdict
At the end of the day, I would personally take the Breitling brand over Panerai since they’re generally more affordable and fits better on my wrist, but Panerai will always hold a special soft spot in my heart.
My Panerai watch that I have right now, Luminor Chronograph Daylight, is my first ever watch that was handed down to me by my parents, and it is the same timepiece that has sparked my massive passion for watches.
If I didn’t appreciate the craftsmanship, design, and look of my Panerai watch, I would probably have never gotten into watches in the first place and I would have never made this blog at all, which is why they will always have a place in my heart. I will keep my Panerai and eventually give it as an heirloom to one of my children in the future so that one day they might have the same passion for watches as me (but if they don’t that’s completely fine).
Nonetheless, I would still prefer the Breitling brand over Panerai. Since Panerai watches are generally on the larger side, I find Breitling watches to be much more wearable on my wrists than the Panerai brand. In fact, some days I feel unsure about wearing my Panerai watch because it can look and feel too big on my wrist, which is something I haven’t felt with my Breitling watch ever.
Even though I love the look and craftsmanship behind my Panerai, I just really enjoy how wearable and stylish my Breitling watch is whenever I wear it. Even though Panerai may be the more expensive and older brand and I absolutely love them, Breitling still comes out on top in my personal opinion.