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).

Recently Ralf discovered a rare Panerai compass, produced in the WW2 aera. It is smaller (case diameter 54 mm / height 28 mm, on the right of the photo) than the later produced compasses (case diameter 70 mm, on the left of the photo), together with a 3646 / Type D watch (produced in 1943-1944).

The small Panerai compass has flexible lugs (26 mm width) and a plexiglas dome with one screw on the side, which can be removed to fill up the fluid). The top of the plexiglas dome has a bearing line and is screwed to the case with six screws. The screws reaching deep into the side part of the plexiglas dome, which is a remarkable difference between the WW2 aera and post WW2 aera versions.

It’s also interesting to see that the compass dial of this early production is divided into (only) 45° sections, not like the “younger” compasses which are divided into 22.5° sections.

We know another compass of the same production batch, which is engraved “Officine Panerai Brevettato” on the caseback, while this piece has a plain caseback without a Panerai signature. For some reasons some of the post WW2 instruments (e.g. depth gauges) are “anonymous” (not engraved on the caseback), while most of them bear the “Officine Panerai Brevettato” signature.

A set of vintage Panerai instruments – the so called “Trittico”

Left: depth gauge (30 meters)
“Radiomir Panerai” dial, coated 70 mm case.
Center: watch (Ref. 6154)
“Egiziano Piccolo” with “Radiomir Panerai” dial, 47 mm case.
Rigth: compass
Dial divided into 22.5° sections, coated 70 mm case.

Set of Panerai instruments: A rare 50 meter depth gauge with a brown aged Radiomir dial (case: 70×90 mm, height: 43 mm), Panerai underwater torch (lenght: 163 mm, rubber body: caliber 31 mm back / 61 mm lens, signed “Officine Panerai Brevettato”) and Luminor compass (case: 70×90 mm, height: 34 mm).

Photo credits to Assaf Burstein from Israel