94,400 CHF
“Radiomir Panerai Commando Set” Officine Panerai, Firenze. Made in 1941. Extremely rare set of three military diving instruments comprising: wristwatch, compass and depth gauge, made for the Italian Navy Commandos. Accompanied by copies of the original owner's correspondence, a letter from the original owner attesting to the watchs being used on a diving mission in 1942, and newspaper clippings. The watch: Officine Panerai, “Radiomir”, so-called “Rolex Panerai”, No. 1009972, Ref. 3646, first generation. Made in 1941. Very fine and extremely rare, large, cushion-shaped, water-resistant, stainless steel military diver's wristwatch with a stainless steel Panerai buckle. Signed Oyster Watch Co, three-body, polished and brushed, screwed-down case back and crown, wire lugs. Panerai patented, black with luminous mixed Arabic and bâton indexes. Luminous blued steel "baton" hands. Notes The production of the Panerai firm for the Italian Navy was not only limited to watches. Since the beginning of the 20th Century, they were specialized in submarine precision instruments like compasses, bathometers, and diverse control instruments. Officine Panerai In 1860, in Florence, Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897) set up a small workshop for precision mechanical instruments on the "Ponte alle Grazie". By 1870, the company had become an official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy. Giovanni's successor Guido Panerai (1873-1934) continued to develop high-precision instruments. Named "Orolo
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2007-05-13
