A Watch—and a Life-Changing Sailing Experience
As a major sponsor of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, watch brand Panerai offers a lucky few collectors privileged access to the team’s ongoing 27-year battle to snag Sailing’s America’s Cup. It’s the oldest ongoing sporting competition in existence, and it’s going on right now in Barcelona, Spain. That’s why Panerai made it the focus of one of the year’s biggest launches: the Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition.
Think of it as an unforgettable trip with a very rare free watch thrown in.
The 43mm Tourbillon GMT is made in a skeleton style, using two high-tech materials familiar to modern America’s Cup racers, carbon fiber (it’s known as CarboTech at Panerai) and titanium. In the Luna Rossa race boat, carbon fiber is used for much of the hull, while titanium is used for the all-important foils, submerged “wings” that in the right conditions can lift the boat clear of the water. Combined, these elements allow boats to reach speeds of more than 60mph—often 3 or 4 times the speed of the wind they use for their power. It’s something to behold.
Experiences are everything in the luxury sphere, especially post-Covid. Panerai, however, got in on the experience game well before that, tethering specific watch launches to activations that run the gamut from out-there physical challenges to lofty cultural moments.
This is how it works: A special limited-edition Panerai watch comes at a premium price, but it also includes an unforgettable experience inspired by the watch. In the past, that has meant a three-day trip to the polar night of Svalbard in the Arctic Circle featuring dog sledding, ice-caving, and snowmobiling trips with explorer and environmentalist Mike Horn (and me as a lucky, and watchless, observer). On two occasions, Panerai has also hosted owners of a special edition U.S. Navy SEALs watch to a grueling few days of training with active Navy SEALs in Florida and California and Italian Navy divers in southern Italy.
The purpose of these unique experiences is to provide owners of these special editions with life-changing experiences. That means in some cases getting as close as possible to the harsh physical experiences that are the subject of the enterprise (without actually killing off any of Panerai’s most faithful fans in the process). This takes a great deal of planning but has so far proved worth it, providing collectors with a sense of authenticity and adventure in keeping with Panerai’s rugged history. The customer base for these special experiences is tiny, particularly as many sign up again for the next special edition watches at the earliest opportunity. As one collector told me, “Getting in is hard, leaving is harder.” But it does prove that for Panerai, maintaining a close relationship with its fans pays off. It only remains a mystery to this fan why so few watch brands have attempted anything similar.
For Barcelona, alongside the centerpiece of the match racing off Barceloneta beach, Panerai arranged cultural visits to the likes of Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s mind-bending modernist cathedral – a 142-year project that is still in the process of being finished. On hand—moored in the Port Vell harbor, where all the America’s Cup racing teams have their bases—was Eilean, the 1936 William Fife yacht that was bought and fully restored by Panerai’s former CEO Angelo Bonati after being found languishing in the reeds in Antigua. Now a showpiece of Panerai’s nautical mien, Eilean’s other claim to fame is that she was the boat on which Duran Duran filmed their “Rio” video in 1982. If getting that trivia doesn’t date one, nothing will.
A trip up into the hills in vintage Rollers and Bentleys featured a wine tasting at La Freixeneda, a 13th century wine growing estate specializing in Cava. Back in Barcelona, guests were treated to dinner in Casa Batlló, one of Gaudi’s 12 remarkable, privately built apartment blocks.
But the most attention was given to the water, where the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, under skipper and CEO Max Sirena and co-helms Francesco “Cecco” Bruni and Australian Jimmy Spithill, battled its way through the Louis Vuitton Cup—the qualifying rounds that decides the single challenger for the America’s Cup. After a couple of days of technical glitches, Luna Rossa won its place in the final, facing off against Ineos Britannia, helmed by Sir Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher. Based on the performances of both teams, it promises to be a riveting final.
Watch the Louis Vuitton Cup Final racing from Thursday, September 26 on YouTube. For more info go to americascup.com
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