Sotheby’s New York features a Ref. 3646 / Type E in their Important Watches auction on June 8th, in New York (Lot 166). The watch has been added into our database back in 2007 with painted brass dial, Rolex 618 / Type 1 mod. movement and caseback without Rolex SA hallmark – features of a Ref. 3646 / Type E watch. In its actual condition, the watch is equipped with a re-manufatured dial (a sandwich construction of two brass discs and transparent plastic disc in the middle) with “Radiomir Panerai” lettering, made during restoration at the Officine Panerai customer service, dated March 2016.

Extract of Sotheby’s lot description about the re-manufactured dial:
The present 3646 recently underwent restoration at Officine Panerai, which included a re-manufactured dial with Superluminova and a complete service with extreme care made to retain original components and finishes, including remarkably retaining its original crystal.

The watch is mentioned together with other known Ref. 3646 watches with brass dials in our book “The References” in chapter II.IV on page 471 and in chapter II.V on page 565. Further information on painted brass dials in combination with the flat version of the bezel can be found in the chapter II.IV on page 472-479.

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

Guido Panerai & Figlio’s legendary, patented crown-protecting device from the 1950’s – today it would be called a “Panerai app for underwater wristwatches”. How to describe this functional feature from the past today? Lets give it a try:

System requirements: Ref. 6152/1 or GPF 2/56 case. Protecting the winding crown during underwater use. Release lever for winding the movement and setting time.

Approved decades ago, the crown-protecting device turned into a legend many years later. This “Panerai app” created an unique look which attracts watch collectors around the world. Available on modern Panerai watches, made for the public since 1993, the crown-protecting device carries the Panerai DNA from the past into the future.

Vintage Panerai watches with crown-protecting device are featured in the second volume of our book “The References” (1950’s-1960’s) in chapters VIII, IX and X.

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]

Phillips features a very rare Transitional 3646 on May, 15th (lot 123, The Geneva Watch Auction: THREE). Added into our database in 2010, this is one of only five examples which are recorded until today. The rare casing design is based on the pillow-shaped casing of the Reference 3646, on which stronger lugs have been soldered. According to our database it is the only recorded Transitional 3646 with two-lined “Luminor Panerai” dial and Angelus 240 SF movement with date engraving “JUIN.61”.

All known examples of the Transitional 3646 feature a grey anti-reflective coating on the center part of the case, as used on compasses, depth gauges and watches of the Reference GPF 2/56. The screwed-in bezel an caseback are not coated due to the construction of the casing. This example is one of two Transitional 3646 watches featuring a low, two-digit serial (matriculation) number on the display caseback.

Transitional 3646 watches are featured in our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s in chapter X.II. One of the only five known examples, the Transitional 3646 from the Museo Panerai Collection, is shown on page 1196-1211. The coffee table shot shows page 1208-1209 with a side view of the Transitional 3646.

We hope that 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]

The first edition of “The References” from 2009 (368 pages, sold out since January 2013) has been replaced by the new, second edition of “The References” – a book set of two volumes (1930’s-1940’s and 1950’s-1960’s), 696 pages each, with a total of 1392 pages.

The coffee table shot shows the 2009 (black, sold out) and 2016 (green, in stock) editions. Here is an overview on the content – the twelve chapters in two volumes – with 1392 pages:

“The References” 1930’s-1940’s (volume 1)
Vintage Panerai watches from 1930’s to 1940’s, featuring References 2533, 3646, the Mare Nostrum chronograph, compasses, straps and buckles.

The first volume of “The References” documents, in detail and with numerous images, 33 Vintage Panerai watches from the 1930’s to 1940’s and the database classification of more than 380 Vintage Panerai watches in existence today. The early References 2533 (chapter I) and 3646 (chapter II) are explained and with rich reference to several variants by their number groups. This overview is complimented by the legendary Mare Nostrum chronograph (chapter III), rare compasses (chapter IV) used in the Second World War and some of the few straps and buckles which rarely survived after more than 70 years (chapter V).

“The References” 1950’s-1960’s (volume 2)
Vintage Panerai watches from 1950’s to 1960’s, featuring References 6152, 6154, 6152/1, GPF 2/56, Modified References, compasses, depth gauges, straps and buckles.

The second volume of “The References” continues to document, with numerous images and historic information, 37 Vintage Panerai watches from the 1950’s to 1960’s. The References 6152 (chapter VI) and 6154 (chapter VII), followed by Reference 6152/1 with the famous crown-protecting device are explained in detail and many variations in chapter VIII. Followed by the Reference GPF 2/56 with Angelus movement (chapter IX), “The References” volume 2 features in chapter X the Modified References 3646, Transitional 3646 and Modified Reference 6152/1. Chapter XI is about compasses and depth gauges, followed by the last chapter XII, an overview of the straps and buckles used on Vintage Panerai of this era.

The new “The References” books can be ordered only in our bookstore.

Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

The Ref. 6152/1 “Destro” with “Marina Militare” dial and Rolex movement is one of the watches from the Archivio Storico Panerai which are featured in our book “The References”. Auctioned in New York at Antiquorum in 2005, it returned “home” to Italy and became a highlight addition in the historical archive of Panerai.

Read more on this unique watch on page 1054-1057 in chapter VIII.II of the second volume (1950’s-1960’s).

Fourteen different watches of the Reference 6152/1 are documented in chapter VIII of the second volume of our book „The References“. For a better overview, we divided the chapter about these watches in two parts: Watches of the Reference 6152/1 with Rolex 8 mm crown are introduced in chapter VIII.I (four examples) and watches with the legendary crown-protecting device from Guido Panerai & Figlio are introduced in chapter VIII.II (ten examples). Very few watches of the Reference 6152/1 bear a very interesting detail on their casebacks, no matter what type of crown or dial they are coming with: an engraved matriculation number. The coffee table shot shows page 914-915 of chapter VIII.I – a Ref. 6152/1 watch with 8 mm crown and engraved caseback.

In addition to the four different types of markings which are attributed to watches used by the Italian COMSUBIN special forces (read page 911-917), some watches of the Reference 6152/1 were marked with engravings of the Guardia di Finanza, Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato and the civil fire service Vigili del Fuoco (read page 965-1003).

It is worth to mention that the famous “Gamma” veteran Luigi Ferraro established a school for professional civil divers in 1952 with courses for the Vigili del Fuoco (1952) and in the following year also for the divers of the Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza (read page 220-224 in chapter II.II of the first volume of “The References”).

Two very rare watches with these engraved casebacks are documented in chapter VIII.II, both with a “Luminor Panerai” dial, which most of the Ref. 6152/1 watches and crown-protecting device are recorded in our database today. The coffee table shot shows page 966-967 of chapter VIII.II – the engraved caseback of a Ref. 6152/1 watch with crown-protecting device and “Luminor Panerai” dial.

Further information on “The References” 1950’s-1960’s (second volume) can be found here. The new “The References” books can be ordered only in our bookstore.

Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

After the sale of a Ref. 3646 / Type D earlier this year, auctioneer Wright Marshall features with lot 153 one more Ref. 3646/ Type D with anonymous “Kampfschwimmer” dial, blued steel hands and onion shaped crown (Type 11) in their Fine Antique & Collectible Sale on 10 May 2016 in Knutsford, Cheshire (United Kingdom).

The watch has been added into our database, matching the Ref. 3646 / Type D criteria by its Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement in combination with the Rolex hallmark, reference and case number embossed on the inner caseback.

The outer caseback of the watch bears a rare engraving, featuring initials of the first owner, the year 1945 and the words “Kampf-Schwimmer” (combat swimmer) and “L.K. 700”. Only a very few number of Ref. 3646 watches are known today, which are decorated / personalized in a similar way. Another well known example with painted brass dial and identical engraving on the caseback is part of the Museo Panerai Collection.

About the Lehrkommando 700 (short: L.K. 700, as engraved on the caseback): In 1944, several training schools were built for different type of Small Naval Assault in the German Kriegsmarine. Aside the training school for combat swimmers (frogmen), there were schools for explosive boats (Lehrkommando 200 and 600) and further four different types of midget submarines (Lehrkommando 250, 300, 350 and 400).

We have documented and illustrated the various training schools of the Small Naval Assault Command in our book “History1” on page 202-203 in chapter III (see coffee table shot on the left).

The Lehrkommando 700 was based in Valdagno and Venice (Italy) until November 1944 and moved to the island of Sylt (Germany) until the end of the Second World War. Remaining units of the Lehrkommando 700 have been arrested POW by British forces at Sylt. Many Panerai watches changed ownership in these days and became a “souvenir” for returning troops of the allied nations after their service. Some of these watches have survived the war and surfaced after more than 70 years to the public. We expect further watches to be discovered in the future which went a similar way than the Ref. 3646 / Type D offered at Wright Marshall in May.

Wright Marshall provided the following provenance:
“This watch has been in the northeast of England since the early 1960’s when the vendors late father swapped the watch for a carriage clock, it has remained in the family since that date, the watch was serviced by a local jeweller on 20/5/88 for the sum of £28 and the watch has never been used since that date.”

Wright Marshall CONDITION REPORT: 
The watch was last serviced from a local jeweller on 20/05/88 for the sum of £28 and has been left in a drawer since, light scratches and marks to outer case and U-shaped crack to plexi-glass, minor bending to large fingertip, minor chipping to hands, light wear/use marks throughout around back outer case, green colour around edges, crown partly releases, unable to move the fingers with crown, a simple shake and the watch starts to tick for around 10 seconds, not complete with original led seal.

We hope that 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.wrightmarshall.co.uk]

Our first book, published in 2007 and entitled “Watches with History” opened with the words “In this book we would like to give the reader an overview of historic Panerai watches and their documented history.” Years passed since then, during which we have embarked on many interesting trips into the past while researching this subject.

The personal stories of the first owners of these watches were mostly forgotten in the last years, reaching back more than 70 years since their use in war times. Only a few Vintage Panerai watches can tell their story, and the story of many others will never be told. In 2012 we were able to take an even deeper and more comprehensive look at the wearers and the uses of these watches in the book “History1”.

The stories in this book take the reader back to the time of the Second World War. Rare pictures from this period bear silent and impressive witness to the conditions and living circumstances, which we have also been able to supplement with rare map and image materials from various international archives. A small number of Vintage Panerai watches reveal their secrets to the collector and answer the ever-recurring question: Who used the watch? When did the operations take place, and to what purpose? And further: where and under what conditions did the comprehensive training of the special maritime unit take place? How and by what means were the deployments of the combat swimmers carried out? What do the veterans think of those missions today? We pursued the answers to these questions and, thanks to the help of some surviving veterans, their descendants, or by means of analyzing previously unknown documents such as diaries, interview records or recordings by opposing spies, we managed to compile some very impressive and authentic chapters.

The four chapters of our book “History1″ (420 pages) are introduced below:
Chapter I / Chapter II / Chapter III / Chapter IV

In the book “History2” (2013) we once again took our readers on a journey through time with five more stories: five exciting and moving fates of frogmen, for whom their Panerai watch was not an item of jewellery, but rather an important piece of equipment during the Second World War.

„History2“ outlines the personal experiences of the combat swimmers and describes in the smallest detail their fate, which has, during conversations or in written correspondence, evoked at times painful memories and great emotions after many decades.

The watches presented in this book were in action under “real” battle conditions in the Second World War. They accompanied their original owners since combat swimmer training and indeed for many years after the war.

The five chapters of our book “History2″ (480 pages) are introduced below:
Chapter V / Chapter VI / Chapter VII / Chapter VIII / Chapter IX

Our books “History1” and “History2″ can be ordered directly in our bookstore.

Featured in our new book Vintage Panerai “The References” 2nd edition (2016) on page 1328-1329 in chapter XI.I of the second volume: a Luminor compass. case 70 x 90 mm, 26 mm leather strap and brushed stainless steel GPF buckle. Made by Guido Panerai & Figlio for the Italian navy commandos of the COMSUBIN in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Read more on Vintage Panerai instruments worn on the wrist in chapter XI (page 1314-1367).