The classic yachts which are such an impressive spectacle at the gatherings of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge emanate a timeless fascination, with the simplicity and elegance of their lines and the perfection of their design. Today these remarkable yachts are classics, but when they were designed by the best naval architects of the last century they were at the forefront of technology. The same spirit is found in the new Luminor 1950 Regatta PCYC 3 Days ChronoFlyback Automatic, one of the watches created by Panerai to celebrate the world of classic yachting.
The new Luminor 1950 Regatta PCYC 3 Days ChronoFlyback Automatic has all the characteristics which have made the Luminor 1950 one of the international icons of high quality sports watchmaking, with the technical excellence of the P.9100/R movement, designed by the Panerai Manufacture in Neuchâtel to provide yacht racing enthusiasts with a watch able to measure the countdown marking the start of a race.
The Regatta countdown function is remarkably simple to use, a tribute to the excellence of the technical innovation contained within the P.9100/R automatic chronograph calibre. A push-piece at 4 o’clock moves the gilded central chronograph minute hand back one minute each time it is pressed, to the position required in relation to the duration of the countdown. Pressing the push-piece at 10 o’clock starts the chronograph: the relative hands begin moving, first indicating the minutes and seconds remaining until the start and, once the countdown is finished, recording the time elapsed from the start of the race. The push piece at 8 o’clock stops the measurement and returns all the chronograph hands to zero or, if operated when the hands are still moving, it activates the return to zero (flyback) function, thus immediately starting the measurement of a new time interval without needing to activate the stop and reset mechanism.
The black dial of the Luminor 1950 Regatta PCYC 3 Days ChronoFlyback Automatic has a distinctive design with large markers, enhanced by all the elements which display the indications of the chronograph functions. The easily recognisable chronograph hands are central and of different colours (the seconds hand is rhodium while the minute hand is gilded), and the chronograph hour hand rotates in the counter at 3 o’clock, mirroring the small seconds dial at 9 o’clock. As well as the scale of 15 minutes for the countdown, the flange is also marked with the tachy meter scale in knots which enables the average speed of the yacht over a particular distance (one nautical mile) to be measured by the chronograph minute hand. The beige elements on the dial are complemented by the sewing of the brown strap in natural untreated leather, closed with a titanium clasp buckle and heat-stamped with the OP logo.
The Luminor 1950 case (47 mm in diameter) has the characteristic Panerai lever device which protects the winding crown, contributing to the water-resistance of the watch to a pressure of 10 bar (a depth of about 100 metres). It is madeof brushed titanium – a material which combines lightness and strength – with a contrasting polished bezel, while the inscription PANERAI CLASSIC YACHTS CHALLENGE and anelegant classic yacht with its sails deployed are engraved inrelief on the back.
As well as the Regatta countdown function, the P.9100/Rautomatic movement has various other characteristics which demonstrate the high degree of technical excellence of the Panerai Manufacture in Neuchatel. It is a sophisticated chronograph movement with a vertical clutch and column wheel, a variable inertia balance which oscillates at 28, 800 vibrations per hour, the seconds reset device for accurate synchronisation, a bi-directional rotor, and two spring barrels providing a power reserve of three days.
