An interesting “Trittico” (= wristwatch, compass and depth gauge) is up for auction at Christies in their november sale 1383 (LOT 27). 

A rare GPF 2/56 “Big Egiziano” with “Radiomir Panerai” dial, a compass and a depth gauge will hopefully find a good new home on november 14th in Geneva/Switzerland.

Features of the watch:
Reference: GPF 2/56
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 018
Movement: Angelus Cal. 240 SF (8 days)

The watch is a close “brother” of the “Big Egiziano” with the case number 012, published in our book “Vintage Panerai – The References” and shows identical features, especially the signed date “12.55” on the movement plate. The balance cock bears the “SF 240” sign (Stolz Frères Cal. 240), which can be found on the earlier versions of the Angelus movement (1955 – signed “12.55”), while the movements dated in the 1960’s (e.g. “MAI.61” or “JUIN.61”) have a “+/-” on the balance cock in the majority, from what we were able to find out by comparing with our database.

All three items of the “Trittico” are signed “OFFICINE PANERAI FIRENZE” on their casebacks. Each item has the complete number of original screws (6 each). All of them appear with their original leather strap and buckle.

The depth gauge is aimed 60 meters and bears the “Radiomir Panerai” sign on the lower part of the dial. All items show signs of use, the dial of the GPF 2/56 has faded into brown “tropic” color.

You can read more about the Ref. GPF 2/56 in our book “Vintage Panerai – The References”, chapter V, pages 256-283.

[Photos with kindly permission / courtesy of www.christies.com]

Today I had the chance to stop by at the auctioneer Dr. Crott in Mannheim/Germany. Their 84th upcoming auction features a 3646 / Type C which I wanted to see “in real” before it finds a new owner. After the nightmare experience last week when I was contacted by a collector regarding a fake 3646 “Kampfschwimmer”, it was a pleasure to see such a “raw diamond” as described below:

This “Kampfschwimmer” watch is to me what a vintage Panerai collector can dream of. It appears to be put away in a drawer for decades. It shows a lot patina and proof of wear with thousands of super fine scratches which give the case a nearly matte finish. Lovely aged – I would never put a polishing tool on it. This proof of age is something which have to be kept on this watch (hopefully) by its future owner… Put away in a drawer for decades also mean that it needs a service. I recommend the future owner to go to his “watchmaker of trust” to clean the movement and fix the crown tube.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer”  (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1010147
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Actually the crown can’t be screwed down to the case as the tube has no winding grip anymore. Known as “the #1 part to be worn off”, the onion shaped crown is always something to be sensible with. Imagine that the crown has to be used evey day and if the watch gets many wrist time (which has obviously been the case in this piece…) one day a new tube is needed.

My personal review:
The plexi: original, never polished, shows scratches and wonderful cracks inside, the rare “volcano dome” shape, lurking a bit above the bezel – just as it should be and similar on many other 3646 watches.
Dial and hands: anonymous dial, nicely aged, numbers and markers fading colors from yellow to orange, including some typical cracks inside the luminous material. Both hands appear to have the original luminous material, not broken out, complete pair. Hands show partially stain, a proof that they have never been polished and/or fixed. Nice blueish shine in different ankles…!
The case: full size Ref. 3646 body, never polished. Typical shape of 3646 / Type C watches. Lugs without damage. Patina all over, proof of “age & use” let it look matte – great!
The caseback: fantastic and rare tatoo-style engraved initals with owner’s initials “HD” and “Marine-Kampfschwimmer 1945”. A true tool watch used in WW2. The inside of the caseback shows the typical Rolex SA embossing known for 3646 / Type C watches. Reference and case number 1010147 matching our database perfectly. No surprise at all. Another piece of the puzzle added.
The Rolex movement: typical Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 (17 Jewels, no incabloc). A service is recommended, as the crown is not winding down onto the case to close the watch, tube has to be fixed.
Extra: the buckle part of the original leather strap is still with the watch! These buckles are hard to find alone, especially those which have not bent down. A strapmaker can make the other part in similar leather or take off the buckle from the original strap to create a complete new strap in same color and style.

You can also read and see more about the different versions of Ref. 3646 watches in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References”. [Volker Wiegmann]

Some time ago I have written on paneristi.com about fake watches which have the same caseback numbers than existing, real vintage Panerai watches (3646 / Type C #1010222 – in our database since march 2007; 3646 / Type D #260720 – in our database since december 2009). I’d like to keep the info available for collectors here as well. Recently I have been contacted by another Panerai collector who showed me a doubtful piece, which we were able to identify by checking our database.

We ask collectors to be careful and check for important details. We offer our free help to check our database if the offered watch is already known.

Recently we have added another yet unknown watch into our database.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 1010168
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

You can read and see more about the different versions of Ref. 3646 watches in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References”. Find the illustrations of  ref. 3646 / Type A – C casebacks here.

After the auction house Dr. Crott has provided more details to us, we were able to add the watch into our database with all important features to compare it with other existing watches of this number group.

Our database entry (click above) shows the following detials: Inner caseback signed 1010147. Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement. Anonymous “Kampfschwimmer” dial with aged numbers and markers. Steel hands. Original, nicely aged Plexiglas. Onion shaped “Brevet+” crown.

This watch will be auctioned at Auktionen Dr. H. Crott on their 84th auction on november 12th, 2011. Further details about this LOT 33090 are published at their website. You can also read and see more about the different versions of Ref. 3646 watches in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References”.

We hope it will find a good new home!

A load of Vintage Panerai instruments with “Luminor” and “Radiomir” substance; 10 depth gauges aimed for various depths and 13 compasses produced from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Especially rare are the two small compasses, which have been used in World War 2 (left corner of the photo) by german and italian frogmen. Further details about these two rare instruments can be found here [Italian frogmen’s compass] and [German frogmen’s compass].

[photo by Ralf Ehlers]

Stunning watch infront of some Vintage Panerai compasses: the GPF 2/56. The case diameter of this reference is 66 millimeters including the crown protecting device. It was made by Panerai for the Egyptian navy in the mid 1950’s, which received the nickname “Egiziano Grosso” because of its huge size.

You can read more about the Ref. GPF 2/56 in our book “Vintage Panerai – The References”, chapter V, pages 256-283.

Two “Elux Panerai” signal devices for underwater use in their cardboard storing boxes. Creating red or green light, both devices are battery powered.

Large device (red “Elux” light patch = 5 x 10 cm):
Battery pack 18 x 8 cm, 4 x 1.5 V mono batteries.
on/off switch as known from the underwater torches.

Small device (green “Elux” light patch = 2.5 x 5 cm):
Battery pack 21 x 3 cm, 2 x 1.5 V AA mignon batteries.
on/off switch behind a rubber membrane.

[photos by Ralf Ehlers]

A very interesting 3646 / Type C watch will be auctioned at Auktionen Dr. H. Crott on their 84th auction in November 2011. Further details of the auction and this LOT will be published at their website soon.

The watch is matching in all details with our database. Until today 39 watches of this type are known, and only 4 of them have an anonymous “Kampfschwimmer” dial. The caseback bears a rare engraving (“Marine Kampf-Schwimmer 1945”) with the initials “HD” of the german frogmen. It comes with the original brass coated buckle and one part of the original strap.

A similar watch can be found in chapter I.III of our book “Vintage Panerai – The References”. We hope it will find a good new home!

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer”  (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1010147
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

[Photo courtesy of Auktionen Dr. H. Crott / S. Pflaesterer]