Phillips will feature a very rare Ref. 6154 “Small Egiziano” in their upcoming auction Geneva Watch Auction: XV. Between the different Vintage Panerai references, the 6154 is one of the rarest and most attractive because of its unique flat case design and only a small number of watches existing today. The watch appears with brown faded “Radiomir Panerai” dial, 8 mm Rolex crown and Rolex 618 / Type 1 movement. The auction lot includes a depth gauge and a rare underwater torch, known to be used by Egyptian frogmen in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Further info on this watch (lot 293) can be found here.

This particular watch can be traced back to the year 1995 when it was auctioned at Antiquorum in Geneva. Two years later, in 1997, it was published in the book “Militari da polso” on page 60. The watch was also published in our book “The References” (2009 edition, sold out) on page 197 and again – in detail – in our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s on page 808-817.

Read the historical background on watches and instruments from Guido Panerai & Figlio used by the Egypt frogmen in chapter VII and IX of “The References” 1950’s-1960’s, including rare photos of an Egyptian frogmen wearing Guido Panerai & Figlio instruments (page 794, 1064 and 1068). 

The “Maserati” amongst Vintage Panerai references because of its flat, elegant and streamlined case, was auctioned in 2016 at Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: FOUR and remained under the surface since then.

We hope that also this watch will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Photos courtesy of www.phillips.com]

Phillips will feature a rare Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” in their Hong Kong Watch Auction: XI, which will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2020. Read more about lot 999 here.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 6152/1
Dial: “Luminor Panerai”
Case number: 124833
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4

The Rolex movement of the watch with “Luminor Panerai” dial is a typical Cal. 618 / Type 4 version with incabloc shock protection and 17 jewels. The watch is equipped with so-called “double pencil” hands with sharp pins. This particular variation of the brass hands is known among collectors as the “Double Pencil – Sharp Pin” style.

Similar watches of the Reference 6152/1 with Rolex movement and crown-protecting device can be found in chapter VIII.II (page 922-1057) of our book  “The References” 1950’s-1960’s .

We hope that this Ref. 6152/1 with Angelus movement and “Fourliner” dial will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Photo courtesy of www.phillips.com]

Phillips will feature a rare Ref. 6152/1 “Fourliner” in their Hong Kong Watch Auction: XI, which will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2020. Read more about lot 998 here.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 6152/1
Dial: “Fourliner”
Case number: 124964
Matriculation number: 31
Movement: Angelus Cal. 240 SF (8 days)

Typical for watches with this case and dial configuration (however only very few are known compared to the Ref. 6152/1 watches with Rolex movements) is the display caseback, featuring the matriculation number 31, with a view onto the Angelus movement, signed MAI.61.

Similar watches of the Reference 6152/1 with Angelus movement and Rolex crown (with matriculation number 35, 45 and 52) can be found in chapter X.III (page 1212-1259) of our book  “The References” 1950’s-1960’s .

We hope that this Ref. 6152/1 with Angelus movement and “Fourliner” dial will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Photo courtesy of www.phillips.com]

Phillips will feature a very rare Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” in their Hong Kong Watch Auction: XI, which will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2020. Read more about lot 997 here.

Until today we have just a few 6152/1 watches in our records that still feature such an additional rotating bezel – and one of them is the watch up for auction here at Phillips. However, seven other watches registered in our database with a Plexiglas crystal that has been adapted for affixing a rotating bezel show that the known examples (including this specimen) are not one-offs or “prototypes” as they have been often labelled to underline the extreme rarity.

The Rolex movement of the watch with “Luminor Panerai” dial is a typical Cal. 618 / Type 4 version with incabloc shock protection and 17 jewels.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 6152/1
Dial: “Luminor Panerai”
Case number: 124614
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 4

Watches of the Reference 6152/1 with Rolex movement and crown-protecting device can be found in chapter VIII.II (page 922-1057) of our book  “The References” 1950’s-1960’s .

We hope that this Ref. 6152/1 will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Photo courtesy of www.phillips.com]

Phillips will feature a rare GPF 2/56 “Big Egiziano” with in their Hong Kong Watch Auction: XI, which will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2020. Read more about lot 996 here.

Features of the watch:
Reference: GPF 2/56
Dial: “Radiomir Panerai” (sandwich, engraved)
Case number: 019
Movement: Angelus Cal. 240 SF (8 days)

[Photo courtesy of www.phillips.com]

This “Big Egiziano” bears the matriculation number 019 on the inside of the caseback, which is screwed onto the body by six screws. The “engine” of this watch with a case size of 60 mm and rotating bezel, the Angelus Cal. SF 240 eight-days-movement, is signed “12.55” and equipped with an Incabloc shock protection.

A similar GPF 2/56 with also brown faded “Radiomir Panerai” dial (case number 018) has been featured back in 2011 when it was auctioned at Christies here.

Watches of the Reference GPF 2/56 can be found in chapter IX (page 1058-1161) of our book  “The References” 1950’s-1960’s. Read also the historical background on watches and instruments from Guido Panerai & Figlio used by the Egypt frogmen (“Al ferka al serria”) in chapter VII and IX, accompanied with rare historic photos.

We hope that this “Big Egiziano” will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

Artcurial will feature “The Rösel Radiomir” – a Ref. 3646 / Type C with anonymous sandwich dial – in their upcoming auction on 18 July, 2019 (Lot 705) in Monaco.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type C
Dial: “Kampfschwimmer”  (sandwich, anonymous)
Case number: 1010351
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1

This Ref. 3646 / Type C “Kampfschwimmer” is recorded in our database since 2012. The watch has been auctioned in the same year for the first time at Dr. Crott and for the second time, five years later, in 2017 at Phillips GWA6.

The Ref. 3646 / Type C “Kampfschwimmer” and the history behind is featured in our book “History2” in chapter IX with 98 pages, 63 photos and 4 technical illustrations (see photo below). Furthermore it is published in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.III on page 322-349. Read more about “The Rösel Radiomir” here.

We hope that this rare watch will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

[Photo with kindly permission / courtesy of www.artcurial.com]

The month of May will see three Vintage Panerai watches offered in two different auctions. A Ref. 3646 / Type D “Kampfschwimmer” will be offered in Frankfurt during Dr. Crott Auctioneers‘ 97th Auction on Saturday, 12 May, 2018. Earlier this year, this watch (lot 114) marked the first new recorded specimen in our database for the year 2018 inside the Ref. 3646 / Type D number group. Read more on this “Kampfschwimmer” here in our watch point.

One day later, on 13 May, Phillips offers two Vintage Panerai watches in their Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN (session two / Sunday). Lot 212 is a Ref. 6152/1 with “Luminor Panerai” dial. Read more on this 6152/1 with a very rare matriculation number of the Guardia di Finanza engraved on the caseback here. The third watch up for auction in May is another Ref. 3646 / Type D “Kampfschwimmer” which was auctioned 21 years ago in 1997 at Christie’s “Ravenborg Collection of Rolex Watches”. It is now lot 213 in Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN and you can read more about it here in our watch point (please note also the update on this watch from 7 May, 2018).

Phillips will feature a rare Ref. 6152/1 “Luminor Panerai” in their Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN, which will be held on Sunday, 13 May 2018. The watch was recorded in our database in 2017 being one of three “new surfaced” Ref. 6152/1 watches – all three of them with engraved casebacks. Read more about lot 212 here at Phillips.

The “Luminor Panerai” dial is the most used in all Ref. 6152/1 watches recorded in our database, as well as the Rolex 618 / Type 4 movement is working in more than 80 % of all recorded watches of the Reference 6152/1. The crown-protecting device of this watch is not signed with “BREV. ITAL.” but instead numbered “9” on the upper side (usually such numbers can be found on the underside of crown-protecting devices). The initial “double pencil” shaped hands have been replaced by the current pair of hands, probably during a service in the past.

The caseback of this watch is marked with a very rare matriculation number of the Guardia di Finanza. In addition to the Italian navy, divers of the military Guardia di Finanza (G.F.) and Carabinieri (C.C.), Polizia di Stato (P.S.) and civil divers within the fire service (V.F.) were also equipped with watches from Guido Panerai & Figlio. The present watch is one of only two watches in our records with a matriculation number of the Guardia di Finanza. The second watch belongs to the Archivio Storico Panerai.

Chapter VIII.II of our book “The References” 1950’s-1960’s is featuring similar watches like this specimen on auction at Phillips, with Rolex movement and Panerai crown-protecting device, on page 922-1057.

We hope that this Ref. 6152/1 will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

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

Phillips will feature a Ref. 3646 / Type D in their Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN, which will be held on Sunday, 13 May 2018 (session two). By its inner and outer details it is representing a typical “Kampfschwimmer” watch with anonymous sandwich dial, onion shaped “Brevet +” crown (Type 11) and Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 movement. Read more about lot 213 here at Phillips.

The watch has been one of our first database entries back in 2003. Because of the limited available information back then, it was an incomplete record in our database (no photos of the movement were available, the movement was described by text only). The watch was auctioned at Christies as lot 9 of the “Ravenborg Collection of Rolex Watches” (London, 30 September 1997).

In late 2017 – a good fourteen years later since we added the watch into our database – we received several photos of the watch to finally complete our database entry of this Ref. 3646 / Type D. It is noteworthy that in the printed auction catalogue from 1997 the watch can be seen having a Rolex crown “printed” on the dial below 12 o’clock as well as a big Rolex crown instead the now present onion shaped “Brevet +” crown fitted on the cushion shaped case.

Update 7 May, 2018: Phillips informed us that the consignor of the watch found the original dial and big Rolex crown (like the watch was known by the 1997 catalogue) which will accompany the current lot.

Watches of the Reference 3646 / Type D are featured in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.IV (page 398-531).

We hope that this Ref. 3646 / Type D will find a good new home and remains surfaced in the Vintage Panerai collectors world. [Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann]

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