SETTING SAIL FOR BERMUDA!

Panerai has taken the plunge to become the official watch for the America’s Cup and for two teams, including Oracle Team USA. For Oracle, the Italian brand has created three timepieces, including a black ceramic chronograph with a flyback feature.

2017 is an important year for lovers of sailing, especially with the America’s Cup, the most prestigious and most followed sailing race in the world taking place in Bermuda. Panerai, the Italian brand with workshops in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, figures among the race’s partners as official watchmakers. For the occasion, the firm is presenting five new timepieces, including three for Oracle Team USA, the winner of eight consecutive races and two cups. Among the trio is the Panerai – Luminor 1950 Oracle Team USA 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Ceramica (PAM00725).

The matt black ceramic case on the Luminor 1950 Oracle Team USA 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Ceramica is 44mm in diameter. It is equipped with a crown guard with a lever – a typical features of Panerai collections – two pushers (start/stop at 10 o’clock and flyback/reset at 8 o’clock) and a black titanium background. The background features the words “America’s Cup”, the Oracle Team USA logo and the silhouette of the team’s famous trimaran.

At the heart of this black setting is the P.9100 calibre, an automatic mechanism made by Panerai, providing a power reserve of 72 hours (3 days) and driving the chronograph with the flyback function. This feature is used to launch the timer for a new event without having to press stop/reset. A precious timesaver during a race where each minute, and even each second counts.

The black watch face is encircled with a chapter ring featuring a nautical tachymeter (measurement in knots). In the centre, a set of stick-shaped luminescent hands display the hours and minutes around the hour rim made up of slender markers and large Arabic numerals for 6 and 12. The seconds are shown in a counter equipped with a small blue hand at 9 o’clock. Also in the centre are two slim coloured hands: a blue-coated hand to count down the seconds on the chronograph and a hand with a red finish for the minutes. The hours, meanwhile, are shown in a at 3 o’clock.

A black leather strap with the America’s Cup logo rounds off the sporting look of the Luminor 1950 Oracle Team USA 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Ceramica. Like the watch dial, it is adorned with the colours of the famous regatta on the stitching: blue topstitches near the buckles and red stitches along the sides of the leather.

Price on request.

By Sharmila Bertin