$74,400
Panerai – Rolex - Marina Militare - Brevettato Panerai “Officine Brevettato," case No. 124949, Ref. 6152. Made in the early 1950s. Very fine and very rare, cushion-shaped, large, water-resistant, stainless steel, military diver’s wristwatch with a stainless steel Panerai buckle. Three-body, polished and brushed, inclined bezel, straight lugs, transparent screwed-down case back, patented winding-crown with security lever. Black with luminous Arabic numerals and baton indexes. Luminous blued steel baton hands. Notes Officine Panerai, founded in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai, was the first distributor of fine Swiss watches in the Florence region of Italy. The company didn’t gain historical importance until Giovanni’s grandson, Guido Panerai, become involved. In the early 1900’s Guido began experimenting with luminous materials and developed a method for making optical equipment luminous by the use of a material he invented called Radiomir. As a specialist supplier of precision optical equipment Officine Panerai were granted the license to supply the Italian Royal Navy with various specialized instruments such as compasses and timing devises. Officine Panerai were therefore the obvious choice when the Navy wished to provide its elite divers with wristwatches. Panerai then turned to Rolex, who manufactured the most reliable waterproof wristwatch of the era, to assist them. In 1938 Panerai launched the Ref.3646, using a Rolex movement and Oyster Watch Co. case (a division of the
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2010-06-10
