The Luminor Regatta appellation was first seen on an Officine Panerai watch in 2001, the same year that WorldTempus made its debut on the Internet. The Luminor Marina Regatta 2001 (PAM 107) was a limited edition of 500 which unusually had the year on the dial under the regatta inscription. It was a standard time-only piece with small seconds on the left and a magnified date on the right. A GMT function was added the next year and the year was dropped from the dial (PAM 156) in a limited run of 300 pieces. The first chronograph version came in 2003 with the PAM 168 reference (a limited series of 399), followed by a Luminor Sumbersible in 2004 (PAM 199), which was limited to 500.
When the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge started in 2005, the regatta models were associated with this race series, in which classic yachts compete in regattas all over the world. The first such model was the Luminor Regatta with power reserve in 2005 (PAM 222), which heralded a run of limited edition of 500 watches each year. A flyback chronograph version followed in 2006 (PAM 253), a split-seconds model in 2007 (PAM 286) and a chronograph with a hobnail-patterned dial in 2008 (PAM 308).
Over the past 10 years the Regatta collection has welcomed a number of innovations, from the first case in black PVD-coated steel in 2009 (PAM 332), a 1/8th of a second chronograph indication in 2010 (PAM 343) in a titanium Radiomir case (the only Regatta model to use this case so far) and a tachymeter scale featuring knots rather than units per hour in 2013 on the PAM 526 Luminor 1950 Regatta 3 days flyback chronograph in titanium. The first model to use the Luminor Submersible case came in 2011 (PAM 371), also with a case in titanium and a GMT hand. A second Submersible model came in 2014 (PAM 571) as a limited edition of just 50 pieces to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Panerai Classic Yacht Regatta. Sandwiched between these two models were two Luminor 1950 watches, PAM 427 in 2012 with a split-seconds chronograph movement and eight days power reserve and the aforementioned PAM 526.
To celebrate the announcement of its partnership with the 35th America's Cup, Panerai presented five nautically-themed watches, three for Oracle Team USA (PAM 724, PAM 725 and PAM 726), one for Team Softbank Japan (PAM 732) and the official America's Cup watch (PAM 727). Read more about them here.
Last year, Panerai broke with tradition by presenting not one but three Regatta watches associated with the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge, each featuring the acronym of the series in the lengthy model name. PAM 652 is a Luminor 1950 PCYC Regatta 3 days flyback chrono automatic in titanium with the 47mm case, while PAM 653 and PAM 654 are Luminor 1950 PCYC 3 days flyback automatic chronographs with a smaller 44mm case in steel. PAM 653 has a familiar black dial with oversized Arabic numerals, while PAM 654 has an ivory dial with a mixture of baton markers at 6 and 12 o’clock and dots for the remaining hour markers. Both models have the tachymeter scale in nautical miles and all three have the “PCYC” initials on the dial.
This year, Panerai shakes things up again with a watch dedicated to the Transat Classique – the race that sees these majestic classic yachts tackle the rigours of an Atlantic crossing. As the Panerai references head towards the thousand mark, PAM 952 brings back the regatta countdown timer in a 150-piece limited edition to celebrate the Panerai Transat Classique, which sets off from Lanzarote on 8th January 2019. Naturally, Panerai’s own classic yacht Eilean, the 1936 Bermudan ketch, will be among those taking part in the 3,000 nautical mile challenge as she embarks upon the 38th transatlantic crossing in her career.
This exclusive model in titanium with a blue dial and matching blue strap has the course from Lanzarote to St. Kitts in the Caribbean engraved on its case back and is only available from Panerai stores. You can also find some of the above-mentioned models, at least dating back to 2009, available for sale directly via the official Officine Panerai website.
