Panerai Builds Hype Ahead of 37th America’s Cup

The Submersible Quaranta Quattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech is made for winners. Despite featuring elements similar to previous editions of Panerai’s flagship diver’s watch — the patented safety lock over the crown, a robust Swiss-made automatic movement, and a substantial 44 mm case — the newest addition to the Panerai family is perhaps its most advanced model yet. And it ought to be. With a case and bezel protected by an innovative ceramic coating, and a depth rating of 500 metres, the Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech will be going along for the ride as the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team attempts to make history at the 37th America’s Cup.

From August to October, teams representing Italy, France, New Zealand, Switzerland, the U.S., and the U.K. will push the world’s most advanced sailboats to their limits. They’ll fly high above the waves, clearing the water on massive hydrofoils as they compete for the oldest trophy in the world of sport. “It’s not easy,” says Max Sirena, Luna Rossa team director and skipper. “It’s almost impossible to win the Cup.” A three-decade veteran of America’s Cup racing, Sirena should know. And, while Italian teams have been vying for the Cup since the early 1980s, they have yet to join the elite club of nations (Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the U.S.) to take home the prize. “It’s like a drug,” Sirena says of the obsessiveness the event inspires in himself and his teammates. “In the end, the fastest boat is going to win, and that means making one less mistake than your opponents.”

Panerai has been involved in America’s Cup sailing since 2017, and has been the official sponsor of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team since 2019. It’s a partnership born out of shared nationality and a like-minded ethos, says Panerai CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué. “Our association with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team resonates deeply with Panerai’s maritime heritage and our pursuit of boundary-pushing performance,” he says, referencing Panerai’s roots as a supplier of high-performance diving watches to the Italian Navy. “It’s not like we did a survey of hundreds of different brands. We had one race, the America’s Cup, and one team, which was Luna Rossa. Did we have a Plan B? No.”

The new Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech, then, is a watch befitting of its namesake in both appearance and performance. “We know that watches worn by these guys are badly treated,” says Pontroué, citing the extreme physicality required to race an experimental sailboat on the open ocean at more than 100 km/h. Ti-Ceramitech, he says, was in part inspired by a visit to Luna Rossa’s headquarters in Cagliari, Italy. “You discover materials that are used in this high-speed world that we don’t use in Switzerland,” he says, “because we work mainly with watch suppliers.”

The watch is the result of seven years of development, undertaken at Panerai’s Laboratorio di Idee in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The Ti-Ceramitech coating is 44 per cent lighter than steel, with a fracture toughness 10 times higher than traditional ceramic — an ideal combination for the world of high-stakes competitive sailing. “We use this same ceramic coating concept on the boat to reduce friction in the bearings and turning blocks,” says Sirena. “Because, whatever you can do to reduce friction, you gain in efficiency.” As complicated as it is to initially produce Ti-Ceramitech, however, Pontroué says that rendering this cutting-edge coating in the distinctive shade of sea blue required for the Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa was the most time-consuming part of the process.

And, like every watch made by Panerai, the completed prototype was subjected to a battery of challenging in-house tests, with additional field-testing handled by the Luna Rossa crew. “They tested in real conditions,” says Sirena. “For them, a watch is a good watch if they don’t feel it, and they can read the time quickly.” With its clean, ultra-legible dial, rubber and textile strap with Luna Rossa livery, and 500 metre water-resistance (a 200-metre improvement over the rest of the QuarantaQuattro line), the watch ticked every box.

While the Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech will make anyone who wears it feel like a member of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, the new limited-edition Panerai Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition will take a fortunate few even closer to the action. In addition to being the first 45 mm Submersible to combine a tourbillon with a carbon-composite Carbotech case (yet another example of Luna Rossa’s use of advanced materials), it also includes access to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the 37th America’s Cup this year.

For, limited to just 20 pieces, the incredible tourbillon also comes with an invitation to the finals of the sailing competition in Barcelona this October, and the chance to both view the race from the deck of Panerai’s historic wooden yacht, Eilean, and enjoy a series of behind-the-scenes cultural and culinary experiences. And, while Panerai unfortunately can’t guarantee the trip will see you witness a win for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, the brand has put every effort into building a watch fit for a historic victory. “We are a brand equipping modern heroes,” says Pontroué. “These are people who want to win.”

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