The 36th America’s Cup is underway in Auckland, New Zealand with a fierce competition to the daily finish lines being played out by Emirates Team New Zealand and the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team of Italy. It is the one of the world’s oldest sporting events dating back to 1851 when schooners competed for the title instead of the state of the art boats without a keel that are flying over the waters today. It is also one of the most exciting and has been won by only four countries since its inception.

Swiss watchmaker Panerai is one of the sponsors of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team of Italy and the Official Timekeeper for the prestigious Prada Cup which is the qualifying race for The America’s Cup. Founded in Florence in 1860, the house historically supplied the Italian navy with precision time keeping instruments and watches, equipping, initially, the frogmen commandoes. Today the house manufactures its movements and watches in Switzerland. To commemorate its role in the Prada Cup the house brought out its Panerai Luminor Luna Rossa, a 49mm GMT in a limited edition of 20 pieces and which was sold exclusively on the house’s website last December 3rd. And which — a tip for collectors here — sold out.

The coveted prize for the race, dubbed Auld Mug, is the oldest trophy in international sport as the 27-inch high trophy in sterling silver is 170-years-old. It was first offered as the Hundred Guinea Cup on August 22nd, 1851 by the Royal Yacht Squadron of Great Britain for a race around the Isle of Wight, the trophy was renamed the America’s Cup as a tribute to the winning boat, America, a 100-foot schooner from New York. The race will unfold on Auckland’s Waitemata harbor and is around 1.7 nautical miles long (about 3 kilometers). The first team to score seven points wins the Auld mug and becomes the defender of the 37th America’s Cup.
©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette
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