Recently we took a close look at a high precision lathe made by Panerai in the last century. This masterpiece of Panerai engineering will be auctioned at Dr. Crott in their 87. auction (May 11th, 2013).

Panerai has produced various types of lathes with different beds, ranging from 200 to 500 mm. The lathe is mounted on a wooden base and comes with additional tools to be used on the lathe, depending on the mechanical work to be done.

A collection of spring collets is part of the auction too. The spring collets bear the famous GPF logo (Guido Panerai & Figlio) on the heads aside the sizes. The drill chuck bears the GPF logo as well and the number 172 (probably a matriculation number, giving the idea of how many of these high precision instruments have been produced).

It has been nice to observe this rare instrument and spot some Panerai DNA on many corners of the high precision lathe.

Additional information about high precision lathes from Panerai can be found here. These instruments are also featured in the book “Panerai Historia” (by Giampiero Negretti / Officine Panerai) on page 28/29 and in the book “La Panerai di Firenze” (by Dino Zei / CLD Libri) on page 74.

Recently I had the chance to see another Ref. 3646 / Type D watch, which surfaced into the Vintage Panerai world a few months ago. The pictures which were available haven’t been very detailled so it was interesting to take a close look on the details of the watch and take some photos.

The first noteable thing is of course the replacement dial, taken probably from a cockpit instrument (VDO gauges) which is using a very reduced design, bearing only 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Needless to say on which brand’s dial design this is a reminder…

The fact that such a dial was used for replacement is answering the question byself, with which dial this watch once came. Because of the flat bezel of the watch (see photo), only a flat dial (“California Dial” or painted brass “Kampfschwimmer”) is possible (for explanation read also our book “History1”, Chapter II.I page 162-163 or “The References”, Chapter I.VII page 156-157).

The comparing photo shows the watch (3646 / Type D 260838 on top, flat bezel) placed above another 3646 / Type D (260554) with the high version of the bezel, using a sandwich dial from Panerai.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type D
Dial: flat, matching with the bezel (anonymous)
Case number: 260838
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

The original strap has not “survived” but we know this has happened on most of the sewn-onto-the-case straps of Ref. 3646. It should be easy to find a “vintage style” strap, so there are many options for this kind of  “personalization” in the future to let this watch look nicer than on the actual bracelet. From what I was able to see, the steel bracelet did not cause serious damage (abrasion / wearout) on the welded-to-the-case lugs.

Once again, this “new surfaced” Ref. 3646 watch is matching our Type D criteria by its details, which has risen the number of Ref. 3646 / Type D database entries up to 60 watches (as of march 1st, 2013). In combination with the 6 digit case number, the Rolex SA embossing on the fully decorated inner caseback is a typical feature of Ref. 3646 / Type D watches (this particular watch has the highest number – 260838 – expanding the Ref. 3646 / Type D number group to 260408 – 260838).

Matching with the inner caseback engravings is the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement with its typical engravings on the center bridge. The outer caseback bears no engraving. The steel hands have kept their blueish color, the luminous material partially felt off but is worth to conserve as is. Seal rings should be attached as well to keep humidity off the case.

It may not easy to find an original onion crown in the future to bring back the original appearance. Actually the watch bears a replacement crown, as we know this watch was used for a long time, the winding crown is one of the main parts which had to be replaced. Lack of original spare parts caused the use of different crowns than the originals, which has happened on other 3646 watches too.

Informations provided by the owner of the watch, answering questions I asked him via e-mail are the following:

Question 1: Is there any known history coming along this watch?
“The watch was in possesion of a yugoslavian army officer. Actually its function was a “polit komisar” in the army. This was a quite high titule in the communist yugoslavian army. We know the name of this officer but at this time his relatives would prefer to keep it secret since they do not know why it would be of interest to anyone, so I also do not see a reason to disclose it. The watch has been worn until the death of this person in 1982, daily. Thats why also the parts where exchanged. The dial actually was not readable anymore. After 1982 it was more or less in a wardrobe closet. It must have been obtained in the second world war, where directly is not known since this officer has been active on different parts and battles against Italians and Germans at that time.”

Question 2: Do exist any photos of the past, showing the previous owner wearing it?
“Yes we have pictures of the owner wearing the watch in different decades. Actually a picture from the year 1954 then in the sixties and late seventies. In the 50s and 60s the original dial is seen as also the leather strap. Then in the late 70s we can see the metal bracelet, at that time also the dial has been changed with the VDO. After the death of the owner in 1982 the watch was more or less left on side at one of the sons of the owner.”

Watches with a history like this show us the way which some of them took during or after WW2. The lack of original spare parts caused many untypical appearances like – in this case – an untypical dial taken from a VDO cockpit clock… If we can take a close look at the watch and see its details, together with information available from previous owner(s), it can help to find answers on the questions which arise when such a watch surface today. The fact that the watch changed ownership in former Yugoslavia confirmed our knowledge about italian and german frogmen units which were captured at the end of WW2 in this area. Just as some of the watches changed ownership with west allied forces (where they surfaced as well) it has happened in eastern europe too.
[Volker Wiegmann]

Recently we got the chance to take a photo of a Ref. 3646 / Type C watch, which is representing the DNA of Panerai all over by its distinguished design elements.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai”  (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 10102xx
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

A “clean and simple” dial, reduced to the max, fitted in a 47 mm cushion shaped case with welded loops and the “Brevet +” crown… it does not need much to create a legend, which is lasting for more than 70 years and keep collectors of these watches all around the globe so fascinated…

CHAPTER IX – “Helmut Rösel”
(98 pages, 63 photos, 4 technical illustrations)

The collectible items of the former combat swimmer Helmut Rösel, which was submitted for auction to the auctioneer Dr. Crott, contains not only his Panerai watch but also some documents from his time as a combat swimmer, some of which are extremely rare in this day and age. They give precise information about the stages of his training and his successful missions at the western and eastern fronts. The German Federal Cross of Merit, which was awarded to him in 1983 provided new insights, following our enquires at the Office of the Federal President, into his professional career in the Protestant Church, in which he was a pastor from 1961 and a military chaplain for the Bundeswehr from 1971. Letters written personally by him and a 1994 jewellery certificate for his Panerai watch are precious pieces of evidence are just as difficult to find in this day and age as the historic Panerai watches themselves.

CHAPTER IX.I – “The Rösel Radiomir”
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 1010351
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Our book “History2″ is in stock can be ordered in our bookstore.

CHAPTER VIII – “Walter Lewandowski”
(72 pages, 48 photos, 4 technical illustrations)

Walter Lewandowski also followed an unusual path in the Second World War. In 1943 he was initially with the Luftwaffe as a paratrooper and pilot of a transport glider in “Battle Squadron 200”, then posted to the Navy, and immediately afterwards trained as a combat swimmer in Valdagno and in the Lagoon of Venice. After a failed mission on the Adriatic coast, where he managed to find his way back to his own lines overland after many days, he was then sent back to the Eastern Front in Germany for the last weeks of the war. There, as a member of the “Einsatzgruppe Keller”, he carried out a number of missions against the Soviet pontoon bridges. He first escaped captivity by the Soviet troops, who were advancing on Berlin with immense superiority of strength, but then on the island of Sylt he shared the fate of many other “Kampfschwimmer” and was a British prisoner of war until 1946.

CHAPTER VIII.I – “The Lewandowski Radiomir”
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1010117
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Our book “History2″ is in stock can be ordered in our bookstore.

CHAPTER VII – “Hanns-Martin Kaufhold”
(70 pages, 58 photos, 6 technical illustrations)

This chapter about Hanns-Martin Kaufhold shows comprehensively just how helpful a collection of field post letters has been when researching this member of the “Einsatzgruppe Keller”. His correspondence with his then-girlfriend, which lasted more than three years from his entry into the Navy in 1942 until the end of his imprisonment in July 1945, provides information about the stages of his time as a trainee officer and combat swimmer. These rare documents, including identification papers and travel documents issued in Venice, allow us to reconstruct the route he took to the mission grounds at the Eastern Front. A mission report written by Hanns-Martin Kaufhold on April 3rd, 1945 – an unique and extremely rare document – describes a mission carried out by him and four comrades in the “Einsatzgruppe Keller”.

CHAPTER VII.I – “The Kaufhold Radiomir”
Reference: 3646 / Type D
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 260630
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Our book “History2″ is in stock can be ordered in our bookstore.

CHAPTER V – “Jochen Burnus”
(112 pages, 67 photos, 4 technical illustrations)

The chapter on Jochen Burnus describes his period of duty as a combat swimmer, from his posting away from Yugoslavia in 1944 and his training in northern Italy to his missions at the Elbe, where he ended up in American captivity in April 1945. After his release he worked in Hamburg Harbour as a recovery diver, together with other former combat swimmers, including Siegfried Köneke, who also belonged to the “Einsatzgruppe Keller” in the Second World War. Burnus later received his friend’s Panerai watch from Köneke’s parents, after Sigi was killed at the age of 28 in tragic circumstances while working in Hamburg Harbour on March 14th, 1949. Thus the stories of two combat swimmers merge inseparably and allow us to trace the journey of a combat swimmer watch and its earlier owners from 1944 to the present day.

CHAPTER V.II – “The Köneke Radiomir”
Reference: 3646 / Type D
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 260554
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Our book “History2″ is in stock can be ordered in our bookstore.

CHAPTER IX – “Helmut Rösel”
(98 pages, 63 photos, 4 technical illustrations)

The collectible items of the former combat swimmer Helmut Rösel, which was submitted for auction to the auctioneer Dr. Crott, contains not only his Panerai watch but also some documents from his time as a combat swimmer, some of which are extremely rare in this day and age. They give precise information about the stages of his training and his successful missions at the western and eastern fronts. The German Federal Cross of Merit, which was awarded to him in 1983 provided new insights, following our enquires at the Office of the Federal President, into his professional career in the Protestant Church, in which he was a pastor from 1961 and a military chaplain for the Bundeswehr from 1971. Letters written personally by him and a 1994 jewellery certificate for his Panerai watch are precious pieces of evidence are just as difficult to find in this day and age as the historic Panerai watches themselves.

Preview of page 778 – 779:
Helmut Rösel in his navy uniform. Beside other documents, kindly provided by auctioneer Dr. Crott for our research, this historic photo was submitted by a military collector, together with the watch and other very rare collectible items, for being auctioned in November 2012.

Preview of page 810 – 811:
One of the mission targets of Helmut Rösel and his “Kampfschwimmer” group: a railroad bridge across river Rhine, captured in an impressive aerial photo, taken by the U.S. Airforce a few days after the explosion, March 1945.

Preview of page 854 – 855:
Photo of Helmut Rösel’s Ref. 3646 / Type C watch with a current excerpt from our historical Panerai database. The complete restauration work on this watch is documented in several photos taken by a master watchmaker who brought back life into this fantastic Vintage Panerai.

Our new book “History2″ can be ordered in our bookstore.

CHAPTER VIII – “Walter Lewandowski”
(72 pages, 48 photos, 4 technical illustrations)

Walter Lewandowski also followed an unusual path in the Second World War. In 1943 he was initially with the Luftwaffe as a paratrooper and pilot of a transport glider in “Battle Squadron 200”, then posted to the Navy, and immediately afterwards trained as a combat swimmer in Valdagno and in the Lagoon of Venice. After a failed mission on the Adriatic coast, where he managed to find his way back to his own lines overland after many days, he was then sent back to the Eastern Front in Germany for the last weeks of the war. There, as a member of the “Einsatzgruppe Keller”, he carried out a number of missions against the Soviet pontoon bridges. He first escaped captivity by the Soviet troops, who were advancing on Berlin with immense superiority of strength, but then on the island of Sylt he shared the fate of many other “Kampfschwimmer” and was a British prisoner of war until 1946.

Preview of page 706 – 707:
One of several photos provided by the veteran himself, Walter Lewandowski, showing him in the rank of a pilot in 1943, serving the Luftwaffe before he became a “Kampfschwimmer” in Venice/Italy in the summer of 1944.

Preview of page 744 – 745:
Historical maps and photos underline in an impressive way the written history in the last weeks of the Second World War, giving the reader of “History2” an overview of the dramatic situation at the “2nd Byelorussian Front”, where the Soviet troops were fighting the “Operation Berlin” against the Germans at the river Oder.

Preview of page 766 – 767:
Photo of Walter Lewandowski’s Ref. 3646 / Type C watch with a current excerpt from our historical Panerai database.

Our new book “History2″ can be ordered in our bookstore.

CHAPTER VII – “Hanns-Martin Kaufhold”
(70 pages, 58 photos, 6 technical illustrations)

This chapter about Hanns-Martin Kaufhold shows comprehensively just how helpful a collection of field post letters has been when researching this member of the “Einsatzgruppe Keller”. His correspondence with his then-girlfriend, which lasted more than three years from his entry into the Navy in 1942 until the end of his imprisonment in July 1945, provides information about the stages of his time as a trainee officer and combat swimmer. These rare documents, including identification papers and travel documents issued in Venice, allow us to reconstruct the route he took to the mission grounds at the Eastern Front. A mission report written by Hanns-Martin Kaufhold on April 3rd, 1945 – an unique and extremely rare document – describes a mission carried out by him and four comrades in the “Einsatzgruppe Keller”.

Preview of page 636 – 637:
One of the photos provided by the son of Hanns-Martin Kaufhold, showing his father as a young sea cadet.

Preview of page 656 – 657:
1944: Hanns-Martin Kaufhold in the lagoon of Venice, where the training of the “Lehrkommando 700” units took place. He is wearing his Panerai Ref. 3646 / Type D watch on his right wrist on this historic photo, of which not too many are existing today.

Preview of page 688 – 689:
Photo of Hanns-Martin Kaufhold’s Ref. 3646 / Type D watch with a current excerpt from our historical Panerai database.

Our new book “History2″ can be ordered in our bookstore.