Panerai has been tightening its bond with Luna Rossa since 2019, and each new drop has felt less like a team-badge colourway and more like a genuine engineering exercise. The latest pair, the Luminor Luna Rossa Chrono PAM01768 and the Luminor Luna Rossa GMT PAM01791, continues that trajectory. They arrive as the countdown begins for the 38th America's Cup in Naples, the first time the event will be contested on Italian soil, which gives the partnership an edge it has not had before.
The more purpose-built of the two is the Chrono PAM01768. Housed in a 44mm brushed steel case with a polished bezel, it pairs a silver sun-brushed dial with red and white accents drawn directly from the Luna Rossa team colours. A speed tachymeter scale on the flange lets you calculate average speed over a set distance, a complication that makes far more sense on a yacht-racing watch than it does on the average dinner-party chronograph. Inside, the automatic P.9210 calibre delivers a 42-hour power reserve, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour.
What sets this model apart is the strap. For the first time in the Luna Rossa line, the Chrono ships on an elastic velcro strap with a red central stripe, a detail that feels genuinely suited to active sailing rather than merely cosmetic. A second black rubber strap is included, which is always welcome. The PAM01768 is limited to 500 pieces and comes in a deluxe blue cherry wood box, priced at EUR 11,200.
The GMT PAM01791 takes a different approach. At 40mm, it is among the more compact watches in the Luna Rossa family, and it becomes the first in the series to be fitted with a metal bracelet, specifically a taper-shaped steel bracelet with Panerai's tool-free PAM Click release system. The silver sun-brushed dial features red accents on the small seconds hand and an arrow-shaped GMT hand inspired by the sail of the Luna Rossa yacht. Powered by the automatic P.900/GMT calibre with a three-day power reserve, the GMT joins the regular collection at EUR 11,100.
Both watches are water-resistant to 100 metres and carry the unmistakable Luminor DNA: cushion case, oversized luminous dial, and the crown-protecting bridge that has defined the family for decades. But it is the details, the tachymeter, the velcro strap, the bracelet, the sail-shaped GMT hand, that make these feel like watches designed for a purpose rather than simply branded for a team.
