Which Ferrari Watch To Buy

I love my GP 8020. A hugely underappreciated watch.

I think the Hublot vs GP decision is about size. Personally, I like the way my GP wears on my wrist, especially now that the fashion pendulum is swinging back a little bit to smaller more traditionally sized watches.

Here is my GP story:
My 1997 Girard Perregaux Ferrari model 8020 chronograph wristwatch

 

I've had 2 different Ferrari Panerai's that I've worn for years, I love the feel, the size, the weight, the look, etc And I've never had a problem with either of them.

 

As far as I know, Panerai never made a Luminor in collaboration with Ferrari, but their Ferrari editions are still solid pieces to add to any collection.

 

I always loved the Panerai Ferrari watches. I never owned one but have had a few Panerai’s over the years

 

I have a GP 250 TdF which I bought from new in 1997. It was a watch I bought as I embarked into racing. I wore it everyday as a volunteer race car mechanic while at racing school during the day and studying race car engineering/data acquisition. That part of my career culminated as race data engineer in CART/Indy 500 before getting into business side of motorsports etc including F1/Nascar/ALMS etc. So plenty of patina and irreplaceable personal history for me.

Not only was this watch during my fav F1 era (Schumacher/Luca M/Todt/Brawn), it was also part of the collaboration between motorsport friends - Montezemolo and GP owner/ex-rally driver Gino Macaluso. So for me, it has all the provenance of motorsports…not just some co-marketing deal that many watch co-brands are.

I’m also a dual race/street car enthusiast; hence, 250 TdF - epitome and quintessential race/street car IMO.

Beauty is subjective; but my bias for the simplicity/uncluttered, legibility, all-around (dress down and up) watch favors towards this series of GPs.

In terms of reliability, I have to say that I’ve never had the watch opened up after all these years. Still keeps decent time especially as an internally untouched mechanical watch.

Funny thing (maybe not-so-funny) is that I chose this over a Rolex Daytona for similar value at that time. $ value aside, I’d still pick this.

 

How about the make/model Enzo wore?

Regards,

Art S.

 

GP has a bit of a different feel, and I’ve heard great things about the GP 8020 from other collectors—it’s got that perfect balance of under-the-radar yet distinctive.
Since you’re into high-end watches, maybe consider adding a patek philippe nautilus replica to the mix. It’s got that classic, timeless appeal without the Ferrari co-branding, so it could be a versatile addition alongside your dream Ferrari watch.