The Italian sailing team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, has a long America’s Cup history, having first competed in 2000 and having taken part in nearly every event since. And with its Italian heritage, the iconic watch brand Panerai is the perfect official sponsor for the team.
At a private event held in Johannesburg for a select gathering of loyal customers, Panerai’s CEO Jean-Marc Pontroue shares his enthusiasm for this exciting partnership.
‘The sponsorship is a big deal for us, with about a billion people viewing the race between August and October,’ he says. ‘But it’s also about the ecosystem of people you work with in this kind of partnership. Panerai creates watches that take inspiration from the materials and technology used in the America’s Cup. You have engineers who search for materials that enhance performance to help the boat be as fast as possible. These are the same qualities we look for in our watches.’
There are other benefits to partnerships like these, such as the ability to test the watches in real time, which, as any loyal customer knows, is part of the appeal of such a performance-focused brand.
‘We have people who test our watches in the most challenging conditions you can imagine,’ says Pontroue. ‘When you work with guys like that – adventurers, Navy SEALs, the Luna Rossa team – they’ll push you to develop specifications for watches that are beyond what your average person needs. They’re not interested in the price of the watch. After six months, the watches are returned with their feedback regarding comfort, precision, performance, how user-friendly they are. They use the watches for their work, so the watches need to work for them.
‘Panerai creates watches that take inspiration from the materials and technology used in the America’s Cup.’
‘For loyal customers of Panerai, it’s not necessarily about utilising the watch themselves but the pride and pleasure in having a watch with such capabilities.’
Pontroue is more than a little passionate about the brand of which he’s been at the helm since 2018. On his decision to join Panerai, he says it was because Panerai is different to other watch brands. For a start, it is younger than so many of its counterparts, many of which have been around for 100 to 200 years. It is also unusual that the brand is Italian, as opposed to Swiss.
Another unique element of the brand is what has been coined the Paneristi, a dedicated community of loyal Panerai customers. It consists of more than 30 000 members with more than 30 hubs around the world and was started by the members themselves. Each year there’s a meeting somewhere in the world (this year it’s in Kuala Lampur). Pontroue says, ‘Every year 200 Paneristi gather from all over the world for a three-day exchange about Panerai. This year I’ll attend and host one of the evenings. I always start by addressing the audience, saying: “Don’t start to challenge me, I know you know the brand better than I do!”’
The formation of the Paneristi subsequently led to the Panerai Xperiences Program, an exclusive offering that provides a select few with access to a world of unique experiences.
‘I always wondered what I could do to surprise the Paneristi. I wanted to come up with experiences and places where ordinary people cannot go. For instance, we’ve had the famous adventurer Mike Horn lead a group to the North Pole. Or we might give you the keys to the Vatican City and you can open the doors, switch on the lights and be the first ones into the Vatican that day. These unique experiences are offered with the release of an associated timepiece.’
These limited-edition collections – no more than 50 pieces are produced and each is a symbol of an experience – are reserved for only a very few.
Unsurprisingly, this year sees the launch of the Luna Rossa Experience where you can feel the thrill of competition and extreme performance with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team during their 37th America’s Cup endeavours in Barcelona. The experience gives participants race access with the Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli team and lets them live the competition from the inside, while embracing the vibrancy and lifestyle of the Catalan culture. And, of course, there’s access to one of only a select number of Panerai’s timepieces.
