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

Features of the watch:
Reference: 6152/1
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 12450X
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).

Some time ago I had the chance for making this photo, in the middle the Ref. 3646 / Type C watch of our good friend. I had the chance for comparing the differences between Type C and Type D cases, bezels, casebacks – aside the different dial versions: engraved “Radiomir Panerai” and the “Kampfschwimmer” version. The younger companion on the right, the Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” is making the line-up a big load of Panerai DNA at one spot. All three of them powered with the Rolex Cal. 618.

Captured the surface of the sandwich dial on a Ref. 3646 /  Type C Vintage Panerai watch.

The milled digits and indexes on the matte black aluminium dial with a diameter of 37 mm are two of the typical features that each Panerai watch bears – from the past until today. The reduced design of the dial – only 4 numbers and 8 indexes – represents the DNA of the Panerai brand on first sight. Even from a distance, a Panerai can be spotted easily because of its “clear” face…

Captured the blue color of the steel hands on Ref. 3646 watches. Always an amazing detail on these watches: the matte black sandwich dial, the aged luminous material in a color range from honey-like orange to a deep red.

These watches carry the DNA of Panerai in many details. Each of these rare watches aged individually. It is always interesting to see how different these watches passed nearly 70 years… and they are still keeping great time!

Features of the Ref. 3646 with “Kampfschwimmer” dial:
Reference: 3646 / Type D
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer” (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 260554
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Features of the Ref. 3646 with “Radiomir Panerai” dial:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai”  (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1010244
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

You can find more information about Ref. 3646 watches in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References” in chapter I, pages 31-159.

Recently I had the chance to take some photos of two Ref. 3646 watches. The differences between Type C and Type D cases are always nice to point out, but the steel hands are striking eyecatchers on both of them. The blue color of the temperature-treated hands is coming well in a different ankle towards the light source, not easy to capture.

The Ref. 3646 / Type C appears to be one of the “dark red” dials which changed the color of the luminous “Radiomir” over decades. The Ref. 3646 / Type D marks a typical “Kampfschwimmer” watch with anonymous dial.

The casebacks of these watches bear the roots of their origin – both are individually engraved on the outer caseback. The Ref. 3646 / Type D watch has the personalized initials of the first owner and the unit he belonged to, engraved by hand. The Ref. 3646 / Type C watch bears the machine engraved name of the famous italian unit, which carried out underwater missions in the mediterranean sea – the Decima Flottiglia MAS – including its matriculation number.

We’ve been informed by a fellow collector about an ebay auction of a Ref. 3646 / Type C watch (case number 1010222). The watch is in our database since march 2007.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai”  (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 1010222
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

Be careful in buying such watches at places like ebay (“buy the seller, not the watch!”)!

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

Returned home from my visit at the SIHH in Geneve yesterday. It was great to see that Panerai continue to use their DNA in the new collection.

My personal highlight was “the return of the 8 mm crown” (PAM 399) on a Luminor case, which was only produced with the legendary crown protecting device in modern Panerai watches since 1993. This type of crowns have been used on vintage Panerai watches of the references 6152, 6154 and 6152/1 (Rolex 8 mm Brevet crown). You can find more info in our 2nd book “Vintage Panerai – The References” in chapter VI.III on page 325.

Features of the watch:
Reference: PAM399
Case: 47mm AISI 316L polished steel
Movement: Hand-wound mechanical,exclusive Panerai OP XXVII calibre, base Minerva 16-17
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds
Water resistance: 30 metres
Crystal: Plexiglas 3.0 mm
Back: See-through sapphire crystal

You can find a detailled overview of the 2012 models at www.paneristi.com, also at www.panerai.com

As a vintage Panerai enthusiast, it was a big pleasure for me to see the famous “74” Ref. 6152/1 watch with Angelus movement and single pencil hands on display at the Panerai booth! Panerai showed a couple of special and rare watches, also the PAM203 with vintage Angelus movement (a special edition model of the year 2005).