Panerai

Officine Panerai can trace its roots back to 1860 when Giovanni Panerai opened up his watch shop in Florence, Italy. Giovanni’s grandson Guido Panerai took over the company at the turn of the century and began supplying the Royal Italian Navy, La Regia Marina with high precision instruments. And in 1943, Panerai created its first chronograph, the Radiomir Mare Nostrum, that was supplied to Italian naval deck Officers. In the spirit of this rich heritage, Parnerai introduced a vintage-inspired chronograph as part of the Radiomir 1940 collection in 2014.

Our present example, the PAM00520, is the white gold sibling to the PAM00518 (cased in platinum), and the PAM00519 (cased in pink gold). Based on a cushion-shaped case with thicker lugs instead of the soldered wire lugs of the earliest Radiomir, and without the crown protection of the Luminor, this case showcases the transition between the early Radiomirs and the 1950’s Luminor. At is heart beats the manually wound OP XXV movement, based on a Minerva ebauche.

We are pleased to offer the present lot, a stunning example of the PAM00520 numbered 96 out of a limited production of only 100 pieces, in excellent condition complete with its box and papers.