A view on a Vintage Panerai strap…
by Volker on Jun.27, 2012, under General
…more than just an old piece of leather, full of wrinkles and patina. It tells us its age and proof of activity long time ago – looking on this strap is almost like looking into a face of a veteran. It reminds me on what other brands don’t have – a true history. Other brands may create a story around a product. Panerai is different: Panerai had products wich created their stories themselves… approved by brave men in their underwater missions. Lots of these stories were lost and nearly forgotten, but today some surfaced and show us the DNA of the brand – even in the shape of an aged calf strap…
The dark brown 26 mm wide strap with a lenght of 150/90 mm has been produced by Cuoierie Meccaniche Brelli in Tuscany, who was the supplier for straps used on Panerai watches of the last century. The stainless steel GPF buckle is sewn into the strap.
More than 50 years old, this strap is a proof of the quality and skills of the suppliers choosed by Panerai – and a part of their unique DNA.
[Volker Wiegmann]
A close look at a vintage “GPF – Mod Dep” buckle
by Volker on Jun.27, 2012, under General
Put on the macro lens today and tried to catch some details of the “GPF – Mod Dep” buckle, which is mounted on my Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” watch.
Used on 26 mm straps, this type of stainless steel buckle exist in three versions: plain, with a matriculation number of the navy (up to three digits) and, as seen here on the photo, with the embossed trademark “Guido Panerai e Figlio” (short version “GPF”). All versions of the buckle have a brushed finish.
The GPF trademark logo, which unites the three initials G, P and F in a circular form, has been used on various documents or instruments shown in the left corner of the photo – which can be called a typographical masterpiece of the last century – it is without a doubt a piece of the Panerai DNA. The short “Mod Dep” (“Modello Depositato”) stands for “registered design” / “trademark”.
A later version of this buckle has been produced with a matte grey coating and can be found e.g. on nylon straps, mounted on Panerai compasses from the 1980’s, Ref. BSP 851 and BSP 852 (hooded version).
Interesting is, that back in the 1980’s the compass has been engraved on the backside with “Officine Panerai” but the buckles with the old company name (“GPF”) were still used…
The week of the Ref. 3646 – “One more red beauty!”
by Volker on Jun.14, 2012, under General
For our good friend Assaf Burstein from Israel, a long hunt is finally over. We took notice that he can call himself the new happy owner of a Ref. 3646 / Type C watch with “Radiomir Panerai” dial.
The watch has one of the dials which luminous elements (markers and numbers) turned into a deep red colour. In our opinion, the reason for this was the varying composition of the Radiomir paint used in the production of smaller batches. One of the few surfaced pieces of this kind with similar dial has been introduced more than two years ago here.
Not only the front of the watch is a stunner, also the caseback bears a “nice to have” feature, which doesn’t exist often today: less than 10 pieces are known with a “Xa FLOTMAS” (a short for “Decima Flottiglia MAS”) engraving, together with a matriculation number. It underlines that this watch has been used by italian frogmen during 2nd world war. Inside the watch, the Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement from Rolex is ticking, with the typical decorations on the movement bridges, which makes it “one more” clean 3646 / Type C watch entry in our database!
Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1010244
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”. In specific, watches of the Ref. 3646 / Type C are introduced in chapter I.III (page 67 to 83)
Congratulations, Asi – we’re very happy for the “new piece” in your collection!
[Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]
Photo courtesy / with kind permission of Geoff Hess, USA
The week of the Ref. 3646 – “One more Kampfschwimmer!”
by Volker on Jun.12, 2012, under Watch Point
Today I had the chance to see another yet unknown Ref. 3646 / Type C “Kampfschwimmer” watch surfacing into the Vintage Panerai world. Auctioneer Dr. Crott kindly informed me that they just had a new arrival for their upcoming 86th auction which will be held in november 2012.
In its actual conditions, this watch is in my opinion a “raw diamond”. It is untouched, stored away for decades which let it appear today in its original conditions. It needs doubtless a cure at a good watchmaker with a heart for historic treasures – he can bring back the power and functionality on this fantastic piece for the future years. However, the watch was running during my observation. As many other watches too, it has the tubular shaped “Oyster Patent” crown instead of the onion shaped “Brevet +” crown.
Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 1010351
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 for the new owner to find a strap to his personal taste, so there are many options for this kind of “personalization” for the future owner.
Once again, this “new surfaced” Ref. 3646 watch is matching our Type C criteria in all details, rising the number of Ref. 3646 / Type C database entries close to 50 watches…! In relationship with the 7 digit case number (the watch is inbetween the number group 1010091 – 1010374) is the Rolex SA embossing on the inner caseback, which is a typical feature of Ref. 3646 / Type C watches. Matching with the inner caseback engravings is the Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement from Rolex with its typical engravings on the center bridge. The outer caseback bears no engraving. The steel hands have kept their blueish color and the luminous material is still nearly complete!
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]
The week of the Ref. 3646
by Volker on Jun.11, 2012, under General
Interesting news to come up soon this week, seems like Ref. 3646 is on the spot! This reference carries the DNA of the brand… simple but striking!
Stay tuned!
[Volker Wiegmann]
Another Ref. 6152/1 watch surfaced
by Volker on Jun.01, 2012, under General
Recently we have added another yet unknown watch into our database.
Features of the watch:
Reference: 6152/1
Dial: “Luminor Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1245XX
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4
You can read and see more about Ref. 6152/1 watches in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References”, chapter IV (page 203-255).
Another 3646 / Type C watch surfaced
by Volker on May.31, 2012, under General
Recently we have added another yet unknown watch into our database – another piece of the puzzle surfaced. The owner asked us to keep details confidential, such as publishing the (complete) case number. The watch has been shown to us in all details and matching our database criteria.
Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 10102XX
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.
Another 3646 / Type C watch surfaced
by Volker on May.12, 2012, under General
Recently we have added another yet unknown watch into our database – another piece of the puzzle surfaced. The owner asked us to keep details confidential, such as publishing the (complete) case number. The watch has been shown to us in all details and matching our database criteria.
Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 10103XX
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.
Vintage 6152/1 featured in “Chronos” magazine 03.2012
by Volker on May.10, 2012, under General
A vintage Ref. 6152/1 with Rolex movement and “Luminor Panerai”dial is featured in a test report on PAM 372 (“Panerai Luminor 1950 3 Days 47 mm”) in the actual issue 03.2012 of watch magazine “Chronos” (Germany). The report shows the historical roots of the “simple and beautiful” PAM 372, written by Jens Koch with photos by Marcus Krüger.
Dornsiepen’s 3646 to be auctioned on saturday
by Volker on May.07, 2012, under Watch Point
A very interesting 3646 / Type D watch will be auctioned at Auktionen Dr. H. Crott on their 85th auction on may 12th, 2012. The watch is matching in all details with our database.
Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type D
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 260437
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1
The caseback bears a rare engraving (“Marine Kampf-Schwimmer 1945″) with the initials “BD” of the german frogmen instructor Bernhard Dornsiepen. He has been mentioned by veteran Karl-Heinz Kiefer during an interview, which was held in december 2011, of which extracts will be published in our new book “History1″. He mentioned Dornsiepen as one of the instructors at Lehrkommando 700 (“Weisskoppel”) for indoor training several times and underlined his diving skills.
Similar watches can be found in chapter I.IV of our book “Vintage Panerai – The References”. We hope it will find a good new home!
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