SIHH 2019: Panerai begins a partnership with Luna Rossa, America’s Cup challenger

Panerai is starting SIHH strong this year with a new partnership and a new timepiece to boast of. The brand revealed today at a press conference that it is entering into a partnership with Luna Rossa, the Challenger of Record team for the 36th edition of the America’s Cup, as its official sponsor. “The partnership between Panerai and Luna Rossa expresses all the values with which our brand is so strongly linked,” says Jean Marc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai. SIHH 2019: Cartier goes back in time for two new collections Massimiliano Max Sirena, skipper and team director of Luna Rossa, agrees, calling the partnership “a strategic link, resulting from a significant sharing of values and a remarkable passion in common”. Sirena is a veteran sailor who has already won the America’s Cup twice. And of course, there is a new collection to commemorate the occasion: the Submersible Luna Rossa, ref. PAM01039. The new timepieces will be at the heart of the action, worn on the wrists of the Luna Rossa Sailing Team members led by Sirena. The first stage of the America’s Cup World Series kicks off in 2019 in Cagliari, Sardinia, also known as the home base for the Luna Rossa team. The race will culminate in New Zealand in 2021. Panerai is known for its professional diving watches, and its new collection merges the brand’s historic expertise with the DNA of the Luna Rossa – literally. The dial of the new matt black 47mm timepiece is made using bits and pieces from actual sails used on the Luna Rossa. The result is a textured dial that allows the wearers to carry a bit of Luna Rossa with them at all times. The partnership between Panerai and Luna Rossa expresses all the values with which our brand is so strongly linked Jean Marc Pontroué, CEO of Panerai The grey textured dial also comes with white luminous hour markers paired with red accents: the small seconds hand at 9 o’clock, and the central hand showing the second time zone. But the dial isn’t the only feature on the sporty timepiece directly inspired by the Luna Rossa. SIHH 2019: Code 11.59 is all about the double curve for Audemars Piguet Carbon fibre (which is used to make the monohull of the Luna Rossa’s AC75) is also used for the case, as one of the building blocks of carbotech, an innovative material pioneered by Panerai. The material is extremely light, resistant to external shocks and corrosion. The case comes with a unidirectional rotating bezel, another hallmark feature of diving watches, which helps accurately calculate the duration of a dive. On the caseback, made of titanium, is an engraving of the Luna Rossa, its logo and the America’s Cup profile. The timepiece is powered by the brand’s manufacture P.9010/GMT calibre, an automatic mechanical movement with 72 hours of power reserve. And as befits a professional diving watch, the timepiece is water resistant to 300 metres. The timepiece will retail for €21,000 (HK$163,500), according to Panerai. The Submersible Luna Rossa, revealed today during the press conference, is just the latest addition to a variety of timepieces presented by Panerai at SIHH this year. It also marks the first batch of timepieces to debut since the retirement of Angelo Bonati, the man credited with turning the once-sleepy Panerai into the bustling and vibrant brand it is today. Another highlighted timepiece that debuted as part of its SIHH offering is the Submersible Chrono Guillaume Néry Edition, inspired by Guillaume Néry, a French free-diving champion known for his record-breaking feats and stunning underwater photographs. The 47mm titanium timepiece, which comes with blue accents, is undeniably striking. SIHH 2019: Ulysse Nardin’s Freak X is a triumph of the imagination It comes with all the hallmarks of a professional diver’s watch, including water resistance to 300 metres, a unidirectional rotating bezel and luminous white markers for enhanced legibility underwater. It also includes a flyback chronograph function and a calculation of immersion time function. Engraved on the caseback are the champion’s signature and his record dive of 126 metres – a feat accomplished on just a single breath. The timepiece runs on the manufacture automatic P. 9100 calibre with a power reserve of three days. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

SIHH 2019: Panerai begins a partnership with Luna Rossa, America’s Cup challenger

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The watchmaker has created a new collection to commemorate the partnership: the Submersible Luna Rossa, ref. PAM01039

The watchmaker has created a new collection to commemorate the partnership: the Submersible Luna Rossa, ref. PAM01039