Two Italian excellences "unite" in the name of the sea: we are talking about Panerai and Luna Rossa. In fact, the Italian watchmaker is the official sponsor of Luna Rossa, the Challenger of Record that first challenged the defender New Zealand a few months ago to win the 36th edition of the America's Cup. The agreement, signed by Panerai CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué and Patrizio Bertelli, President of Luna Rossa and CEO of the Prada Group - Luna Rossa's Title Sponsor together with Pirelli -, provides for Panerai to be the Official Sponsor of Luna Rossa and to create a series of watches directly inspired by the technologies and materials used in the oldest sporting competition in the modern world, but also the most extreme in terms of research and innovation. The new Panerai Luna Rossa watches, perfect instruments for experiencing the sea, will be on the wrists of Luna Rossa's Sailing Team captained by Massimiliano "Max" Sirena (in the photo), a two-time winner of the America's Cup, and of all sailing enthusiasts who are already looking forward to the America's Cup World Series, the preliminary races that will precede the final in New Zealand in 2021. The first stage of the ACSW will take place in October 2019 in Cagliari, Sardinia, where team Luna Rossa has its headquarters, and will be the occasion to see for the first time in competition the AC75, the brand new monohull on which the teams taking part in the competition will compete. "Technical innovation, Italian excellence, love of the sea and audacity. The partnership between Panerai and Luna Rossa," said Jean Marc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai, "expresses all the values to which our brand is most firmly attached, the same values that we want to transmit to our passionate customers by immersing them in the emotions that Luna Rossa will bring to life. "As an Italian sailor and watch enthusiast," said Max Sirena, skipper and Team Director of Luna Rossa, "I am happy and proud of this partnership signed by our team, which places at our side a brand with unquestionable credentials in the field of sailing. A strategic bond, born from an important sharing of values and an extraordinary common passion". The first watch inspired by the partnership between Panerai and the Challenger of Record of the 36th America's Cup is the Submersible Luna Rossa, a professional diver's watch waterproof to 300 metres with a case in carbotech, the innovative carbon fibre-based material introduced by Panerai to the world of haute horlogerie. Because of its lightness, resistance to external stresses and corrosion, carbon fibre is also the material used for the construction of the AC75 monohull, the silhouette of which is engraved on the titanium back of the watch, together with the Luna Rossa logo and the profile of the America's Cup. The watch has a unidirectional rotating bezel for calculating dive times, also made of carbotech; the dial, for its part, features a special texture that "reveals" an intriguing secret: parts of some of Luna Rossa's sails are in fact applied to it. All the indications on the dial are clearly visible above and underwater, and some details stand out for their red colour: the small seconds hand at nine o'clock and the central second time zone hand that, when properly set, will make it possible to follow the start time of the 36th America's Cup races even if they are taking place on the other side of the world. The new Submersible Luna Rossa is powered by the IWC-manufactured P.9010/GMT self-winding movement with a bidirectional oscillating weight and two barrels, guaranteeing a power reserve of no less than three days. In addition to calculating the dive time, the watch offers the functions of a second time zone, date display at three o'clock, small seconds counter at nine o'clock, and is paired with a black rubber strap, closed by a satin-finished titanium buckle with black treatment.
Data sheet
Submersible Luna Rossa (Ref. PAM01039)
- MOVEMENT
- Automatic, calibre P.9010/GMT, entirely manufactured by Panerai. 13 ¾ lignes, 6 mm thick, 31 jewels, 28,800 vib/h, Incabloc anti-shock device, two barrels. Power reserve of 72 hours (3 days).
- FUNCTIONS
- Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, second time zone, diving time calculation.
- CASH
- 47 mm diameter, in carbotech. Unidirectional rotating bezel in carbotech. Titanium back with special engraving. Winding crown protection device (protected by trademark) in carbotech. Water-resistance: 300 metres (30 atmospheres).
- QUADRANT
- Grey with technical sailing fabric and applied luminescent markers and dots. Date at 3 o'clock, small seconds at 9 o'clock.
- BELT
- Black rubber. Satin-finished titanium trapezoid buckle.
