Interesting detail of the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4 and Type 3 movements: the small Cortebert symbol, engraved on the movement base under the balance cock. Both types of Rolex movements were used in Ref. 6152/1 watches (Type 3 = 15 Rubis version, Type 4 = 17 Rubis version).

The illustration left shows a Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4 where the position of the “Cort” engraving can be found.

You can read and see more about the different versions of Rolex Cal. 618 movements in Panerai watches in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References”.

Officine Panerai introduced the PAM360 – the 44  mm Luminor watch for the 10th anniversary of www.paneristi.com – on their homepage www.panerai.com

Find the entire story here.

Interesting pieces of underwater equipment: an underwater spyglass / binoculars and the famous Galeazzi knife with tool grip, together with instruments from Guido Panerai & Figlio: compass, Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” watch (Angelus Cal. 240 SF movement), depth gauge and “Elux” torch.

The Panerai Ref. 6154 “Egiziano Piccolo” in good company: compasses, depth gauges and it’s “big brother” GPF 2/56 “Egiziano Grosso” in the background.

Even with an impressive case size of 47 millimeters, the Ref. 6154 watch looks pretty small compared to the instruments around, which have a case size of 70 x 90 mm.

Movement view of two Ref. 6152/1 watches: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4 movement (17 Rubis and Incabloc shock protection) and the Angelus Cal. 240 SF (15 Rubis and Incabloc shock protection, signed “JUIN .61”) on the right.

Both watches have the legendary crown protecting device. The device of the watch with Rolex movement (124806) is signed “BREV. ITAL” and “9”, while the watch with Angelus movement (124784) is signed only with “3”.

Interesting to see, that the watch with Rolex movement has different hands (double pencil shape) compared to the watch with Angelus movement, which usually comes with single pencil shaped hands. Note also, that the size of the “Luminor Panerai” is different (smaller on dials with Angelus movement).

You can read and see more about the watch 124784 in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References”, chapter VI.III (page 312-329).

Nice view on a ref. 6152/1 dial with Angelus 240 SF movement. In this perspective, the “sandwich” construction of the Panerai dials is clearly visible. The luminous material is placed deeper / under the dial’s surface. It’s not painted on the face of the dials, as it was usually done by other brands at this time. Numbers and markers are cut out (milled) from the dial, which is matte black painted. The “Luminor Panerai” inscription is milled on the dial (but not cut out), filled with white color.

The “sandwich” dial is one of the most important identifying features – pure Panerai DNA.

Read more about this and other identifying features – the DNA of Panerai – in both of our books. [Volker Wiegmann]

Ralf has provided a stunning macro photo of the milled symbol, which is filled out with white, non-luminous color. It appears only on the dials of GPF 2/56 reference watches: the legendary “8 Giorni Brevettato” symbol, representing the Angelus Cal. 240 SF movement with 8 days power reserve.

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.

Three modern Panerai watches have this symbol of Panerai DNA printed on their dials: the famous PAM203 (2005) with vintage Angelus movement and two Special Editions with 8 days inhouse movements (P.2002/7): PAM339 (2010) and PAM341 (2009). Another rare Special Edition – PAM267 (2007) – is using the same vintage Angelus movement as the PAM203, but without the “8 Giorni Brevettato” symbol printed on the dial.

Read more about the “8 Giorni Brevettato” in chapter IX of our book “The References”

…looking at the 3646 again and again – always stunning to see and feel the design of this watch. It’s simple. It’s clean. It’s perfect. The Panerai DNA is still striking after 60+ years…!

Overview of various Panerai compasses, produced from the late 1930’s to the 1980’s. Interesting to see how sizes, materials and design changed over decades.

In the center of the photo are four pieces of the famous GPF 4/55 model, surrounded by BSP 851 and BSP 852 (with black hood) models. BSP stands for “bussola subacquea da polso” (wrist compass).

On the left of the photo and in the upper right, three “white spirit” models are placed, which have a cylindric, non-metallic case. Some of them are fitted with a sticker, signed “Officine Panerai Firenze”, others have a “white spirit” sticker on, placed on the side or base of the plexi case. Extremely rare is the small compass in the base of the photo, which is the oldest version, used during WW2.

One of the unreleased photos from our 2nd shooting in 2009, showing two Luminor Trittico sets. Similar photos have been used for the first and last inside pages of our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References” in darkness and daylight conditions. 

Two Luminor compasses, two Luminor depth gauges (15 and 16 meters), a 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” watch with Rolex Type 4 movement (cal. 618 Cortebert, 17 Rubis, Incabloc shock protection) and a 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” watch with Angelus 240 SF movement (signed june 1961, 15 Rubis, Incabloc shock protection).