MS Dhoni talks about co-designing a special watch capsule for Panerai

Pratishtha Rana

The brand association between the Italian watch giant Panerai and Indian cricket team’s former captain MS Dhoni began in 2018. As a celebration of this year-long journey together and a tribute to our captain cool, Panerai recently unveiled two limited edition watches – Luminor GMT 44 mm (PAM01056) and the Luminor Chrono Flyback 44 mm (PAM01057) at an event in St. Regis Mumbai. These watches will only be retailed in India.

This two-piece capsule is a part of the popular Luminor collection, which tastefully combines the brand’s Italian design DNA and the bold and determined personality of Dhoni. The cricketing icon has always admired and sported Panerai watches on and off the field. Revisiting the first meeting with Dhoni, Jean-Marc Pontroué, who was appointed Panerai’s CEO in April 2018 said, “I had the chance to see him play last year in April and after personally talking to him, I discovered that he knew more about the brand than I did.”

“Mike Horn, team India’s motivational companion during the 2011 World Cup used to wear Panerai,” said Dhoni. He read about the brand’s history in making equipment for the Royal Italian Navy and got attracted to it.

Having known a lot about Panerai’s craftsmanship, its progress and its prominent role in the luxury watch industry, Dhoni added that it was very easy for him to co-design the watches.

To add his aesthetic to the watch, he wanted two important elements to be incorporated in the Luminor editions – a green dial, his favourite colour, and number 7, which is his birth date and jersey number as well. Both the models, a collaborative signature of Panerai and MS Dhoni, are versatile to wear, yet very originally distinct in creation.

Panerai Luminor GMT- 44 mm

Available in variable straps of military green rubber and black alligator leather, Panerai’s tough-looking Luminor GMT 44 mm is structured with brushed stainless steel, a matte green dial and the brand’s trademark steel safety lock. Encased inside, alongside the Arabic numerals are the hour/minute markers, which feature white Super-LumiNova with green luminescence, adding an attractive factor to the watch.

For a seamless touch of functionality, also present is a small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock with a date frame at 3 o’clock.

The case-back hosts an artsy inscription on its canvas, including MS Dhoni’s signature, a picture of his legendary ‘helicopter’ shot, the Indian peninsula’s layout and digits ‘183’ placed under his full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which signifies the highest score he made in One-Day International Cricket series.

Panerai Luminor Chrono Flyback – 44 mm

Seemingly more sophisticated, Panerai’s Luminor Chrono Flyback 44 mm is created out of Goldtech, which is the name for the Italian brand’s patented rose gold. The technical elements in Panerai’s Flyback model is similar to GMT; like its automatic mechanical movement powered with P.9100 calibre and battery reserve of up to 72 hours.

The watch which has two chronograph sub-dials and a sapphire crystal case-back engraved with the same markings as on its GMT steel counterpart, can be purchased in selections of a black semi-matte alligator leather strap and military green rubber strap.

The two limited-edition models – Panerai Luminor GMT and Panerai Luminor Flyback – just have 251 and 77 pieces respectively, and will exclusively be retailed at Panerai outlets and its points of sale in India.