Ref. 3646 / Type E “California Dial” @ Phillips Geneva
by Volker on May.14, 2016, under Watch Point
One more piece to the puzzle added, another gap closed and a remarkable and noteworthy match in our Vintage Panerai database: Phillips features a rare Ref. 3646 / Type E “California Dial” on May, 15th (lot 122, The Geneva Watch Auction: THREE). Added into our records in March 2016, this specimen bears the important and typical internal and external details of a Ref. 3646 / Type E watch.
Watches of the Reference 3646 / Type E are featured in our new book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.V (page 532-573). With this new addition we have now recorded 27 watches in this group, extending the 3646 / Type E number range downwards by six numbers, filling another gap between the watches of the Reference 3646 / Type D and 3646 / Type E.
The information and measurement results provided by Phillips confirmed the cross-section of a 3646 / Type E caseback, which we put in the focus on page 536-539 of our new book. The caseback of this watch has been engraved with a name, date of birth and hometown of the first owner from Bavaria/Germany.
The Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 mod. movement in this “California Dial” watch is another important element, which appears with confirming details of most of the today recorded watches in this number group.
We hope that also this watch will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]
[Photo with kindly permission / courtesy of www.phillips.com]