Thoughts on Panerai

I'm generally in the camp of wear whatever you like, so I'll start with that. But since you asked for opinions:

I'm personally not a fan of the watches, partially because of the size (big, bulky, although they do have a 38mm model which is a good size) and also because I don't find the quality and innovation of the brand in line with the pricing. Like all luxury products nothing is really worth the price, but I prefer to go for something unique from a brand that has continually pushed the limits (in watchmaking, to me, "pushing the limits" isn't just coming up with weird designs but new complications, etc) , or if I'm looking for something to wear without drawing much attention, a reliable simple watch that will hold value (in case I want to swap it later, I.e. an IWC, JLC, or upping the price a base PP or ALS, but used if you want a chance to hold value). For the more "out there" watches I prefer more down the path of MB&F or ressence (but These start getting weird).

At the end of the day though, you are going to be spending $5k+ on something you will wear everyday (or most), so my advice is do your research, look around and buy whatever it is you love, as you are the one who will be looking at it all day. Very few people will judge you for your watch, and the ones that do aren't worth worrying about.