While the first watches of Officine Panerai were designed to be used essentially underwater, other models were designed to be used in different situations, for instance on board ship, to provide reliable time-measuring instruments for naval officers, such as the Mare Nostrum, the first example of which dates back to 1924. An ancient tradition, then, which the Florentine maker revived in 2005 by creating a series of Special Editions dedicated to the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. A maker so strongly associated with the world of the sea could hardly fail to celebrate it also in the form of a tribute to the sailors of heroic times. This is why the historic maker sponsors and organises the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, an international event reserved for vintage yachts: the most fascinating sailing yachts of the past which, having been restored and returned to the former splendour, measure themselves against each other in an international circuit which takes its participants to both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. For the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2008 the edition, unique as always and executed in and edition of 500 units, consisted of the Luminor Regatta Chronograph 44 mm, a chronograph and also a chronometer equipped to indicate the final five minutes preceding the starting signal of a yacht race.

The case, 44 mm in diameter, is typical of the Luminor and is executed in stainless steel with a brushed finish for the caseband while the bezel is polished, as are the chronograph buttons and the bridge of the lever device. This device is one of the most distinctive elements of Panerai watches and enables the crown to be clamped to prevent any infiltration of water. Water-resistant to 100 metres, the Luminor Regatta Chronograph 44 mm has a tachymeter scale for calculating average speed engraved on its bezel, while on the screwed back, also engraved on the steel, is the inscription which records the year of the event for which the watch was made and the individual number of the watch in the editon. The chronograph push-pieces are inserted obliquely in the caseband behind the bridge with the lever device.

Protected by a anti-reflective sapphire crystal more than 2.5 mm thick, the dial has several details worthy of note. For example, the working of the background consists of little squares forming an embedded lattice which gives depth to the dial itself, against which the two large Arabic numerals and the hour markers stand out. These hour markers consist of little studs filled with highly luminous material. The same material also covers the baton hour and minute hands, the hour markers and the little leaf hands of the subsidiary dials. These are the small seconds dial (at 9 o’clock) and the minute counter (at 3 o’clock), in which the first five minutes from the time the chronograph was started are displayed in blue. Blue too are the large central chronograph hand and that of the minute counter, while the minute track is marked by little numbers nest to the eight hour markers.

The movement used in the Luminor Regatta Chronograph 44 mm is the Panerai calibre OP XXVI, with manual winding and a power reserve of 46 hours. With a diameter of 13 lignes, the movement has 24 jewels and a monometallic balance; it is supplied with the official chronometer certificate of C.O.S.C. (the Swiss organisation which certifies the accuracy of the watch’s performance after 15 days of tests).

Identified by the reference PAM 00308, the new Special Editions Luminor is equipped with a personalised rubber strap completed by the characteristic large trapezoidal Panerai buckle in brushed stainless steel. The watch is supplied with a second interchangeable strap and a special tool for carrying out the substitution.