CHAPTER IV – “Mario Arillo”
(165 pages, 106 photos, 7 technical illustrations)

The chapter on Mario Arillo begins with an interview conducted with him in 1989. Numerous as yet unpublished pictures and documents from the family possessions of the famous submarine commander from La Spezia augment the personal descriptions of his missions as a means of transport for Italian Gamma swimmers and the SLC units of the Decima MAS.

Vintage Panerai “History1”
26 x 26 cm, 420 pages,
trilingual (= german, italian and english language in one book),
hardback jacket, slipcase.

“History1″ is in stock and can be ordered directly at our bookstore.

Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

CHAPTER III – “Karl-Heinz Kiefer”
(55 pages, 39 photos, 3 technical illustrations)

The story of Karl-Heinz Kiefer, who received fast-track training in the last months of the war, already provided proof in the first edition of this book about period of use of the rare watch-face version of his Panerai watch (Ref. 3646 / Type D with brass dial), which for a long time had been ascribed to an earlier date. Now, his winter training in a toughening-up camp at the Baltic Sea in early 1945 is described in detail.

Vintage Panerai “History1”
26 x 26 cm, 420 pages,
trilingual (= german, italian and english language in one book),
hardback jacket, slipcase.

“History1″ is in stock and can be ordered directly at our bookstore.

Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

CHAPTER II – “Heinz Pape”
(91 pages, 44 photos, 3 technical illustrations)

For the most part the chapter about Heinz Pape is taken from his surviving diary and presented as a first-person narrative, with comprehensive supplementation. Thanks to extremely rare aerial photographs of the assignment targets described by him and the examination of maps it was possible to analyse his diary entries from WW2 precisely and thus present them to the reader in such an impressive manner – an unique story of a  “Kampfschwimmer” unit and his Panerai watch, a Ref. 3646 / Type D with its well known and typical anonymous dial…

Vintage Panerai “History1”
26 x 26 cm, 420 pages,
trilingual (= german, italian and english language in one book),
hardback jacket, slipcase.

“History1″ is in stock and can be ordered directly at our bookstore.

Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

The german watch portal www.watchtime.net featured the Vintage Panerai Ref. 3646 / Type D – “The Kaufhold Radiomir” – with an overview about the details of the watch and the history behind its first owner, german frogmen Hanns-Martin Kaufhold.

“The Kaufhold Radiomir” is fully described in our book “History2″ in Chapter VII on 70 pages with 58 photos and 6 technical illustrations. Thanks to www.watchtime.net for putting a spotlight onto Panerai’s DNA. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

CHAPTER I – “Heinz Günter Lehmann”
(75 pages, 38 photos, 4 technical illustrations)

The story of the German elite swimmer Heinz Günter Lehmann and his “Radiomir Panerai” watch (Ref. 3646 / Type C) is told with numerous photos, covering the period from his training in the lagoon of Venice in the summer of 1944 to his countless sporting successes on the international stage after the Second World War. Rare photos and documents, from national and international archives, allied intelligence documents as well as photos provided by his family were added together, followed by the technical details of his watch in chapter I.I with a current excerpt from our historical Panerai database.

Vintage Panerai “History1”
26 x 26 cm, 420 pages,
trilingual (= german, italian and english language in one book),
hardback jacket, slipcase.

“History1″ is in stock and can be ordered directly at our bookstore.

Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

Used in Ref. 3646 watches from Type A to Type G, the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement comes without Incabloc shock protection.

Typical for this non-incabloc version is the serif font for the letters A-R (french) and F-S (english) engraved on the regulation device. The screwed off caseback next to the case shows the decorations on the inner caseback (completely decorated). More Information about the different finishings on inner casebacks of 3646 watches can befound in our book “History1″ (page 166-167) and in our book “History2″ (page 546-547).

See also a comparing between the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 and the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4 movement).

For years, the uncompromised functionality, the mechanical precision and an incomparable design have fascinated collectors of the early Panerai diving watches, which were important instruments for their users during their deployments. Exact timekeeping, perfect legibility in the dark and faultless functioning under water were the characteristics that were demanded by the Navy, which the watches from Florence fulfilled reliably.

The four stories in our book “History1” take the reader back to the time of the Second World War. With the second, expanded edition of the sold out book “Vintage Panerai – Watches with History” (published 2007) we give collectors of historical Panerai watches a deeper and more comprehensive insight into the wearers and the purpose of these watches. Today, subsequent generations can hardly imagine the conditions under which people lived and carried out their dangerous missions back then. Pictures from the 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 national and international archives.

For anyone who has collected these watches for some time, a number of questions arise automatically, answers to which cannot be found in any history book or company chronicle. It is simply not enough to know that the watches derive from a certain time and have the characteristics for which they are now famous. Instead, the collector with an interest in history wants to know who once owned the watch, and often tries to find out a name or some other information about the origin of the watch by examining the rarely-found engravings on the case. Happy are those who receive this information directly from the previous owner. But today – after 70 years – this is only seldom possible.

Our database of today existing Panerai watches, which we have built up and which continues to expand, forms the basis for dating and categorising these timepieces. It provides us with precise expertise, in especially rare cases also with information about the first owner of the watch. The findings from this database, together with the information known today about the original owners of the watches, give an insight into the time of their manufacture and use. In the confusion of the Second World War the watches often ended up in the hands of the Allies upon the imprisonment of their owners, the Italian and German combat swimmers, and some of them – to the great joy of many collectors – still re-emerge in this day and age.

Lost forever during their owner’s deployment, destroyed immediately after the assignment to get rid of evidence, exchanged immediately after the war in return for necessary everyday items – in times of bitter desperation such a watch often held no value for its owner and during its final operation changed from being a diving object to a pawning object…

A small number of historic Panerai watches reveal their secrets to the readers of “History1” 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 of the Second World War, their descendents, or by means of analysing previously unknown documents such as diaries, interview records or recordings by opposing spies, we managed to compile very impressive and authentic chapters.

It was and remains our objective to report factually and comprehensively about the historical Panerai watches and their wearers. “History1” is not a political statement about the time of the Second World War – rather, we have attempted to document the historically proven facts about the circumstances and events of this time, during which the Panerai watches were not items of jewellery for their wearers, but rather an important part of their equipment. It is particularly important to us that this book gives the veterans a “voice” that presents their stories authentically. “History1” describes their very personal experiences and touches on reminiscences, at times in the greatest detail, which in part brought back painful memories and emotions during discussions and in written correspondence with the veterans, even after so many decades. Without their inspiration and great support, this book would not have been possible in this form. For this we would like to express our deepest thanks to “our” veterans.

Our book “History1″ is in stock. It can be ordered directly at our bookstore. Enjoy reading!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

Reduced to the max, simple, clean – the design of the Panerai sandwich dial without the engraved “Radiomir Panerai” as it appears on Panerai watches used by “Kampfschwimmer” units during the 2nd world war.

The aged numbers and markers of the dial in different colors (from yellow to light orange / amber) are a typical feature of 3646 / Type D watches. The clean face of the dial –  just 8 markers, 4 numbers and 2 hands – glowed in the darkness to keep it’s operator “in time”. Waterproof. And of course accurate: functionality can be simple – and something which the users of these watches had to trust in.

This Ref. 3646 / Type D watch is featured in our book “History2″. Read more about the first owners and the missions in which it was used as an important underwater tool in chapter V.

Doubtless one of the iconic Panerai design elements: the crown protection device. The patent was issued in july 1956 and described as “tight-seal device for the control knob of instruments, particularly for the setting and winding knob of watches”.

A 26 mm wide and 6.2 mm high area is milled out on the right edge of the polished case of Ref. 6152/1 watch, to allow a lateral attachment of the protection device, made from brushed stainless steel. The protection system, which is extending 8 mm above the right side of the case is fastened to the case with two screws. The L-shaped protective bar (in open position visible on the photo) is 2.9 mm wide and pushes the crown down firmly to the case when closed.

This Vintage Panerai watch is featured in our book “History1″. You can read more about its first owner Mario Arillo in chapter IV, page 227-391. Read more also in our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s on page 924-927.

May 2014 will be interesting to follow three important auctions, where Vintage Panerai watches will be up for sale. We hope they find a good new home and remail surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world.

Dr. Crott (Frankfurt/Germany) starts the auction month on saturday, may 10th. They have an engraved “Kampfschwimmer” Ref. 3646 / Type D in their 89th Auction (LOT 289). The watch comes with a rare brass dial, corresponding flat bezel, typical Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement, leather strap and very rare chromed brass buckle. The caseback of this Vintage Panerai watch is engraved with the initials of the first owner HV surrounded by Marine-Kampfschwimmer 1944.

Christie’s (Geneva/Switzerland) has another Ref. 3646 / Type D “Kampfschwimmer” on their Important Watches 1401 for auction (LOT 433) on may 12th. This Vintage Panerai watch comes with anonymous sandwich dial and the typical Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement (with 17 jewels and without Incabloc). The caseback is engraved with the initials of the first owner GF surrounded by Nahkampflehrer von L.K. 700 1945.

Last but not least, Sotheby’s (Geneva/Switzerland) presents a Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” in their Important Watches auction (LOT 298) on may 14th. The watch belonged to Admiral Gino Birindelli (M.O.V.M.), commander of the Com.Sub.In. in the 1950s and SLC pilot veteran from WW2. The engine of this Vintage Panerai watch is the typical Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4 movement (with 17 Jewels and Incabloc). It comes with a rare, rotating plexi bezel of which only a few pieces are existing today.