I too have a soft spot for Panerai,
think I came across them in the early 2000's, my uncle who was into watches had mentioned them.
On a trip to Thailand a couple of years later was surprised to see loads of Fakes, especially as they didn't appear to be a mainstream brand.
My first was a 000 (logo) back in 2006, loved the simplicity and interaction with the Manual wind mechanism
I let the zero go and and replaced with a Submersible 243 which was a cracking piece, that went and some years later I had a brief encounter with a 312.
It was through owning my Panerai that first got me onto the internet watch Forums and I was an active member on a US site for many years
Currently without one but like many others I keep looking, when I'm ready to buy another I'll definitely be going for a base model (possibly the blue logo'd 774)
My old man still has a 112 and 351 which are both great examples, I may try to entice the 112 away from him
I believe the Panerai bug is incurable and stays with you...