Sotheby’s will auction a Ref. 3646 / Type B “Radiomir Panerai” with engraved caseback in their New York auction Important Watches on 6 December 2017. The watch (lot 946) has been recorded in our database in 2016, along with information which we have received from the descendants of a British Army veteran who brought this watch back home as a souvenir from the Second World War.

Featuring the small Oyster Watch Co hallmark on its inner caseback, an onion shaped “Brevet +” crown (Type 11) and Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement, the watch with a “Radiomir Panerai” sandwich dial stands in our database as another surfaced Ref. 3646 / Type B with an engraved caseback, providing a very interesting story in terms of how these watches changed ownership at the end of the war.

The history behind the engraving on the caseback of the watch in auction at Sotheby’s has been provided to us by the family of Captain Coltart.

Here is a little information on the watch since it came into the Coltart’s possession in 1945: Captain John Maxted Coltart, initially a member of the Black Watch Regiment (RHR) was transferred to the Gordon Highlanders of the 15th Scottish Regiment for the balance of the war.  After his marriage on March 17, 1945 he returned to duty in Germany to do his part in the crossing of the Elbe. He had tales of the struggle to build and maintain the bridge across the Elbe between Tespe on the South shore and the bridgehead at Tesperhude on the North bank. The bridge was under continuing assault by artillery fire, swimmers in the water and terrifyingly fast jet planes which had just entered the war. Captain Coltart brought a number of war souvenirs back to Scotland, including a Luger pistol, the Panerai divers watch and a dagger. He brought them to Canada when he and his family immigrated in 1955. His daughter inherited the watch upon his death in 1984. She had no idea the watch had value other than a keepsake until a Scottish cousin with a good memory emailed a clipping describing the sale of a similar Panerai watch. Captain Coltart had the back of the watch engraved to commemorate the last battle he took part in and the location where he obtained the watch. At this point it is unclear exactly how he managed to collect these mementos but it is clear that they were obtained while on active duty in Germany during the Second World War and have been in the family ever since.

On “Operation Enterprise” (source: wikipedia):
The particular distinction for the 15th Scottish was to be selected to lead the last set piece river crossing of the war, the assault across the River Elbe (“Operation Enterprise”) on 29 April 1945 spearheaded by the 1st Commando Brigade (commanded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts), after which they fought on to the Baltic occupying both Lübeck and Kiel. The 15th (Scottish) was the only division of the British Army during the Second World War to be involved in three of the six major European river assault crossings; the Seine, the Rhine and the Elbe.

The crossing of the river Elbe at Lauenburg has been part of our research for our book “History2”, chapter IX (page 825-845 with historic maps and photos taken during “Operation Enterprise” in the river Elbe area at Tespe – Artlenburg – Lauenburg) in which a surviving frogmen particularly mentioned the railway bridge of Lauenburg (see photo above, page 824-825) being one of their mission targets in the last days of the Second World War (19 April 1945), followed by the attemp to destroy the 946 ft. “Class 40 Bailey Pontoon Bridge” at Artlenburg (west of Lauenburg, 28/29 April 1945) by a group of German frogmen (see photos on page 842 and 843).

Photo left: view onto the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement of the watch in auction. Similar watches of the Ref. 3646 / Type B with “Radiomir Panerai” sandwich dials have been published earlier here and here.

A special thanks to the descendants of Captain Coltart who provided us information on the Ref. 3646 / Type B and its story behind. We hope that this watch will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world.
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Photos of the Ref. 3646 / Type B watch with kindly permission / courtesy of www.sothebys.com]

Phillips will feature a rare Ref. 6152/1 with “Marina Militare” dial in their Winning Icons – Legendary Watches of the 20th Century, which will be held on Thursday, 26 October 2017. The watch was recorded in our database in 2007 with a “non-matching” Ref. 6152 caseback. Taking the documented history for granted, this watch came directly from a veteran of the COMSUBIN and sold to the collector (the current owner / consignor) in the same year.

In 2013, the current owner of this Ref. 6152/1 added a very rare Ref. 6152 / Type B into his collection, which was recorded in our database with a “non-matching” Ref. 6152/1 caseback (read more here). Due to these circumstances, the owner of both watches (the Ref. 6152 with “non-matching” 6152/1 caseback and the Ref. 6152/1 with “non-matching” 6152 caseback) was able to swop the casebacks to get “matching” casebacks on both of his watches. The result was, that his 6152 / Type B has a “matching” 6152 caseback and the current lot 39 comes with “matching” Ref. 6152/1 caseback (engraved with S.M.Z M.M. 170). Lot 39 is published in our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s on page 894-901.

Furthermore we take into account that over the years we have recorded several Ref. 6152/1 watches with “non-matching” casebacks of the Ref. 6152. The first surfaced Ref. 6152 / Type B watch was recorded in 2010 with a “non-matching” caseback of a Ref. 6152/1, too. The owner of this watch was able to swop the caseback with a “matching” Ref. 6152 caseback as well. More about this can be read on page 767 in chapter VI.II of our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s.

At the release date of our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s, 87 specimen of the Ref. 6152/1 with Rolex movement were recorded in our database, and only 23 of them come with an 8 mm crown like the present watch on auction (the other 64 Ref. 6152/1 watches with Rolex movements have a Panerai crown-protecting devicve). Lot 39 is one of only eight watches of the Ref. 6152/1 with Rolex crown, which comes with a “Marina Militare” dial, known until today.

Further info on this watch (lot 39) can be found here.

We hope that this rare 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]

Phillips will feature a rare Ref. 3646 / Type E with “California Dial” dial in their Winning Icons – Legendary Watches of the 20th Century, which will be held on Thursday, 26 October 2017. The watch comes with an onion shaped Rolex crown (Type 11) and Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 mod. movement. The watch is recorded in our database since 2003. It is one of only two watches in the 3646 / Type E number group with the lettering “ROLEX” (presumably added later) engraved on the right-hand side of the central bridge (wheel train bridge).

At the release date of our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s, 26 specimen of the 3646 / Type E number group were recorded in our database (read page 532-573 in chapter II.V). Only one further 3646 / Type E watch with “California Dial” surfaced since then, and it was auctioned in 2016 at Phillips, too. Lot 16 is published in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s on page 552-559.

Further info on this watch (lot 16) can be found here.

We hope that this rare 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]

Two Vintage Panerai watches will be up for auction in the WINNING ICONS auction at Phillips on 26 October 2017 in New York. Inbetween a total of 50 watches in the auction with the subtitle “Legendary Watches of the 20th Century”, Lot 16 is a 3646 / Type E with “California Dial” (photo), followed by Lot 39, a Ref. 6152/1 with 8 mm Rolex crown and “Marina Militare” dial. Find further info on both watches in our Watch Point.

[Photo with kindly permission / courtesy of www.phillips.com]

Phillips will auction two Vintage Panerai watches on Sunday, 12 November 2017 during their Geneva Watch Auction: SIX. Lot 209 is a Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” and Lot 210 is a Ref. 3646 / Type C “Kampfschwimmer” (photo).

Read more on both “Watches with History” in our Watch Point. Lot 209 is featured in our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s – more info here. Lot 210 is featured in our book “History2” – more info here.

[Photo with kindly permission / courtesy of www.phillips.com]

Phillips will feature a rare Ref. 3646 / Type C with anonymous “Kampfschwimmer” dial in their Geneva Watch Auction: SIX, which will be held on Sunday, 12 November 2017. The watch comes with a tubular shaped Rolex Oyster crown (Type 13) and Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement.

Further info on this watch (lot 210) can be found here.

What makes this watch special for us:
The collectible items of the former combat swimmer Helmut Rösel, which was submitted for auction at Dr. Crott in November 2012 for the first time, contains not only his “Kampfschwimmer” watch but also several documents from his time as a combat swimmer, some of which are extremely rare in this day and age. Additional letters written personally by the first owner and a 1994 jewellery certificate for his 3646 are precious pieces of evidence which makes this a “full set” of which not many exist.

The Ref. 3646 / Type C “Kampfschwimmer” and the history behind is featured in our book “History2” in chapter IX with 98 pages, 63 photos and 4 technical illustrations. Furthermore it is published in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.III on page 322-349. Read more about “The Rösel Radiomir” here.

We hope that this rare 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]

Phillips will feature a very rare Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” in their Geneva Watch Auction: SIX, which will be held on Sunday, 12 November 2017.

It is one of very few existing Ref. 6152/1 watches with a rotating plexi bezel. Until today we have just four 6152/1 watches in our records that still feature such an additional rotating bezel – and one of them is the watch up for auction. The Rolex movement of the watch with “Luminor Panerai” dial is a typical Cal. 618 / Type 4 version with incabloc shock protection and 17 jewels. The watch came from the descendants of Admiral Gino Birindelli (1911 – 2008) and was auctioned for the first time only a few years ago at Sotheby’s in May 2014.

Further info on this watch (lot 209) can be found here.

What makes this watch special for us:
During the 2nd world war, Birindelli was a SLC pilot in the very early missions of the Mezzi d’Assalto against Alexandria (G.A.1) and Gibraltar (B.G.1 and B.G.2) in 1940. He was in fact the first SLC pilot who entered an enemy harbor with his device in the night of 30 October 1940, for which he was awarded with the gold medal for galantry at war (M.O.V.M.). Birindelli survived being a prisoner of war from October 1940 to March 1944. After the 2nd world war his career in the Italian Navy continued and became quite unique. Birindelli was commander of the Incursori (COMSUBIN) from 26 September 1948 to 30 April 1950, once again from 1 May 1954 to 5 June 1956. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1959, headed the I Divisione Navale as well as the fleet command (Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale). Gino Birindelli headed the Allied naval forces in southern Europe before he retired in December 1973 in the rank of Ammiraglio di Squadra. Read more on Admiral Gino Birindelli here.

The watch of Admiral Gino Birindelli and the unique story behind his career can be read in our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s (chapter VIII.II, page 1006 to 1043).

We hope that this remarkable 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]

More than two hundred watches of the Reference 3646 are registered in our database today. Among all different Vintage Panerai models, the 3646 marks the reference with the most known specimen in our records. In 2009, eight years ago, 143 recorded watches were featured in the first (sold out) edition of our book “The References”. Within the entire serial number sequence of the reference 3646, we differentiate between seven different variations (3646 / Type A – Type G). The photo on the left shows a Ref. 3646 / Type C with “Radiomir Panerai” dial, which is featured in chapter II.III (page 306-321).

In our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s the watches of the entire reference 3646 are featured in chapter II with more than six hundred pages in the chapters II.I-II.VII following an intro on page 40-49. The seven different variations can be found in our reference quickfinder on page 14-20.

Chapter II.I = Reference 3646 / Type A
(featuring two different watches on page 50-169).

Chapter II.II = Reference 3646 / Type B
(featuring four different watches on page 170-247).

Chapter II.III = Reference 3646 / Type C
(featuring seven different watches on page 248-397).

Chapter II.IV = Reference 3646 / Type D
(featuring nine different watches on page 398-531).

Chapter II.V = Reference 3646 / Type E
(featuring four different watches on page 532-573).

Chapter II.VI = Reference 3646 / Type F
(featuring two different watches on page 574-607).

Chapter II.VII = Reference 3646 / Type G
(featuring two different watches on page 608-645).

See the different inner casebacks of Ref. 3646 / Type A – Type C watches here, as well as the inner casebacks of Ref. 3646 / Type D – Type G watches here. Enjoy reading!

Our “The Reference” books are available in our bookstore.

Introducing another piece of the puzzle – and one more surfaced in Germany: a Ref. 3646 / Type D with anonymous sandwich dial and rare “Kampfschwimmer” engraving with initials of the first owner and year of service (1945) on its outer caseback. The watch is accompanied with matching paperwork of the first owner, dating back to 1944, as well as a small compass.

The watch has been added into our database in early May 2017 and appears with high bezel (a typical feature of the watches with sandwich dials), onion shaped “Brevet +” crown (Type 11) and Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement. The watch has never been polished and still has its original “volcano dome” plexi as well as the original leather strap and large, nickel-plated brass pin buckle. The blued steel hands still hold their complete luminous material. The inner caseback is signed with the Rolex SA hallmark, reference and case number.

Watches of the Reference 3646 / Type D are featured in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.IV (page 398-531). Small compasses are featured in chapter IV (where a similar version is shown on page 672-675). Chapter V holds information on straps and buckles (page 679-685 featuring the “bottle opener” shaped pin buckles).

Thanks to the owner who provided information for our database.
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

…we started our first book project in summer 2007 – “Vintage Panerai – Watches with History”. Research on watches and the hunt for historic documents, photos and information begun. For the documentation of Mario Arillo’s Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” we got several copies of historic photos from its second owner, of which one b&w copy of a photo (far left in the photo below) caught our special attention.

The caption under the photo told “Festa di Marina, 10 giugno 1943. Il comandante Mario Arillo, qui con i gradi del capitano di corvetta, riceve dal Re d’Italia, Vittorio Emanuele III, la Medaglia d’Oro al Valore Militare. Decorazione concessa dopo il forzamento del Porto di Algeri della notte del 12 dicembre 1942 da parte di mezzi d’assalto, che erano stati trasportati in prossimà dell’obiettivo dal sommergibile Ambra.”

With the support of Fabio Castellani, the second owner of the watch, we were able to send a letter directly to the family of Mario Arillo (1912-2000), asking for the original photo to make a scan of it for using it in the book and to return it back immedately. A few weeks later, a letter from the family arrived in the author’s mailbox …including the original photo from 1943! After the scan was done with great care, the photo returned to the family, as promised. But to the surprise of the authors, the photo hit their mailbox once again only a few days after it was sent back to La Spezia. This time with a dedication on the backside, handwritten by the commander’s daughter, and with the wish to keep it with us. Memories from ten years ago – this happened in June 2007.

A few months later, in October 2007, our first book was published, the photo found a prominent place on page 130. This sold out book with 228 pages “Vintage Panerai – Watches with History” was replaced five years later, in 2012, by the book “History1” in which we published extended information on 420 pages. With the support of Arillo’s family we were able to document his story in chapter IV on a total of 165 pages and with more than 100 historical photos and illustrations, some of them never published before. The photo found its place on page 344 once again. In 2016, Arillo’s Ref. 6152/1 has been featured in chapter VIII.II of our book “The References” (page 942-955). A short intro about its first owner is opening with the very photo on page 950. It was taken on 10 June 1943, exactly 74 years ago today…