In Conversation with Anthony Serpry: Panerai’s R&D Director Talks W&W24 Launches, Forging New Icons, and Symbiotic Partnerships

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At W&W 24, Panerai reinforced its long-time partnership with the sailing team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, with a fleet of Submersibles, including one forged in a new proprietary element: Ti-Ceramitech™.

Kapoor Watch Company speaks with Anthony Serpry, Panerai’s Director of Research & Development, about the vision behind this year’s novelties, their creation processes, and how the maison materialises the intersection between technical innovation and symbiotic partnerships. Here’s all about it.

When did Panerai’s ties with sailboat racing titan, Luna Rossa begin? What was the initial goal of this partnership?

Panerai’s nautical ties with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli set sail in 2019, during the 34th America’s Cup presented by Prada, held in the Hauraki Gulf of Auckland, New Zealand. This partnership emerged as a natural match for Panerai – having a legacy and penchant for crafting timepieces as a trifecta of performance, technological innovation, and sustainability.

Tell us about how Panerai draws inspiration from team Luna Rossa’s passion and how it creatively reflects in the new collections.

Through Panerai’s journey alongside Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, they’ve relentlessly developed catalogues of technical watches, either drawing direct inspiration from the technologies and materials used in the America’s Cup or intimately studying the insights and tactical requirements of the crew.

This partnership embraces Panerai’s unique identity and pillars, embodying Italian DNA, the maison’s deep-rooted connection with the marine world, and its commitment to crafting reliable instruments for modern heroes. Our watches are engineered and tested for the roughest conditions, epitomising the brand’s dedication to durability, reliability, and functionality. Panerai and Luna Rossa form a symbiotic relationship, each drawing strength from the other’s expertise and heritage. By uniting and merging our cultures and missions, we’ve created timepieces and experiences embodying innovation, performance, and adventure.

Take us through Panerai’s contemporary process of creating a Submersible. If there was a checklist to refer to, what would it consist of?

The Submersible is a paean of Panerai’s rich maritime history and embraces the fusion of creative design and advanced technical functionality. At Panerai, we ensure that every detail is cohesive regarding storytelling, aesthetics, and material innovation, reflecting our DNA. Take our Luna Rossa partnership, for instance, this has resulted in a fleet of collaborative Submersible models over the years. Each model perfectly expresses our shared values of reliance, technical skill, and the pursuit of boundary-pushing innovations in nautical performance sports and oceanic exploring.

When it comes to design, the process emphasises narrative coherence, connecting each product to Panerai’s longstanding association with the ocean and integrating unique aspects from our partners – Luna Rossa, for instance. This is further expressed in our choice of colour palettes – almost always tilting towards deep oceanic blues or striking reds of Luna Rossa, representing the ocean’s abysmal beauty and explorative adrenaline of sailing.

Panerai’s aren’t merely forged in steel – but with reliability to perform under pressures and oceanic extremities, ensuring durability and safety alongside precision timekeeping. This makes material selection a critical aspect of our manufacturing process, with selections such as stainless steel, Titanium, Carbotech™, and our newly developed Ti-Ceramitech™.

Finally, furthering the Submersible’s mission. We strive to maximise reliability and functionality in undersea environments by focusing on technical and material innovation. This ensures that each Submersible not only meets operational standards but also supports the adventurous spirit of its users.

While being a Submersible quintessentially designed for the extreme, the new Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition features a tourbillon – what led to that decision?

Ah! Adding a tourbillon to the Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition reflects our commitment to innovation in watchmaking. We aimed to incorporate what’s revered as one of the most intricate and delicate complications in a never-seen-before environment. Fitting this sophisticated mechanism into a 45-millimetre case also required a more streamlined design. While ensuring wearability, it also retains the timepiece’s strong visual impact. Consider this expression one of Panerai’s consistent pursuits to fit the most complex movements in the cleanest, simplest way in a watch.

What went into crafting the Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition?

The PAM01405 Experience Edition is the first Submersible in 45 millimetres to house a tourbillon complication, materialising the intersection between the complexity of horlogerie and the futuristic appeal of Carbotech™, a composite material based on carbon fibre. This proprietary substance, Carbotech™, echoes a key material in the composition of Luna Rossa’s boat’s hull, made almost entirely of carbon fibre.

The manufacturing process of Carbotech™ involves compressing carbon fibre sheets at a precise temperature and high pressure along with PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone) – a superior polymer that binds the composite, enhancing its strength and longevity. The resultant Carbotech™ plates boast superior mechanical properties and performance in strength-to-weight ratio, enabling very comfortable ergonomics while being resistant to tough wear conditions. Notably lighter than titanium and ceramic, Carbotech™ excels in resistance to external forces and corrosion. Its uneven, matt black surface, which varies according to the cutting of the material, lends every singular watch a slightly different appearance. At its core rests Panerai’s hand-wound P.2015/T mechanical calibre, which results from three years of dedicated development. The movement and tourbillon cage assembly demands eight painstaking hours of craftsmanship.

What about the promised ‘experience’ that comes with this novelty?

Limited to just 20 pieces, the Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition is set to debut in July 2024 in the lead-up to the 37th America’s Cup finals. Being an ‘Experience Edition’, owners of the watch will be immersed in a truly exhilarating sailing experience. This breathtaking, one-of-a-kind experience will be curated by the maison during the finals of the America’s Cup in Barcelona. This will also provide the client with a peek-behind-the-curtain of performance sailing and the dedication of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team.

Panerai’s ‘Experience Edition’ watches – What’s the idea here?

Panerai strongly desires to build and foster emotional connections with its clients by immersing them in activities that allow them to embrace the brand’s values and Italian heritage. These experiences range from high-adrenaline military training sessions to deep-sea exploration, high-performance sports, and cross-cultural immersions in Italy – showcasing the brand’s diverse legacy.

Right since 2019’s Italian Navy Military Special Forces Experience Edition which offered a riveting 2-day journey within a restricted military zone in La Spezia, Italy, Panerai spawned a helix of experiences from a North Pole expedition with Mike Horn in Svalbard to a weekend in the birthplace of the maison in Florence. One of our recent highlights was the 2022 Experience with the Italian Military Navy “Brigata Marina San Marco” in Puglia, where watch owners experienced the thrill and intensity of amphibious warfare in our military combat assault simulation. While this program offered a more physical and strategically challenging experience, on the sporting side, the Luminor Luna Rossa owners spent two days immersed in the world of America’s Cup sailing. Alongside the Luna Rossa team, participants toured the base, sailed on classic boats and were offered exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the synergy of design, skill, and heritage of sailing.

Give us an insight into the mission behind Ti-Ceramitech™ – Panerai’s latest innovative material.

The Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech™ series marks a significant milestone in Panerai’s innovation journey. Our Laboratorio di Idee at the Panerai Manufacture – a specialised R&D facility that epitomises our dedication to advanced technologies based in Neuchâtel, dedicated the last seven years to perfecting this pioneering material.

Inspired by a material originally used in high-performance competitive environments, the Ti-Ceramitech™ case results from. Through seven years of meticulous research and development, Panerai has filed a patent application for a titanium ceramization process through Electrolytic Plasma Oxidation able to achieve a very distinctive hue of blue. This process transforms the titanium alloy surface into a dense ceramic layer, and the specific choice of elements used, combined with the electrolyte composition, allowed for the creation of the watch’s peculiar and striking blue colour, a shade inspired by the open seas. The technique yields a significantly enhanced hardness, and the resultant case is 44% lighter than steel yet has fracture toughness ten times higher than traditional ceramic. A material that can withstand high pressure and very high thermal stress, it is an ode to the Panerai’s pursuit of creating reliable, innovative instruments.