Topota

Good stuff ain't cheap. Rolex movement at least $4k Original vintage unpainted dial at least $4K 1-1 caseset at least $4k start at $10k not bad at all, and a much better rep than most of the stuff from the modern Panerai, certainly better than anything coming out of China. good price for this one of a kind, yes at this price range is not for everyone.

That would make for a very small universe ;-)

It is a most interesting fact. Panerai had made all believe that these movements had rested in their storage thru time, only to be dusted off for the grand 203 project. Fact is, yes these movements had been in storage for only a FEW years since they were acquired from Ferreti, and not old stock from vintage Panerai! Without the direct lineage and with the notion that these were bought for under U.S. $100 each it leaves many scratching their heads, including me. The biggest price appreciation story in the history of post-vendome Panerai is not as clean as all believe. Of course there are 150 Panerai selected 203 owners that are ready to come on the defense, can't blame them though, money.

Quick clarification, the 2533 was the original proto for the 3646 dated around 1936. This proto used a Rolex cushion shaped PW with attached sodered lugs. According to serial #s there could be as many as four of these left with two known examples. The Kampschwimer watches were for the most part devoid of markings (although many had the Rolex engraving in the caseback) not so much because Rolex didn't want their markings on these, but mostly as a request of the Kampschwimers who didn't want their equipment identified by the enemy. Panerai didn't start using Angelus movements in their watches until 1956.

6152 with 618 were first made in 1950 6152/1 with crown protector and 618 first made in 1954 6152 variants with Angelus mvmt from 1956 onwards

No, Rolex and Panerai had a relationship way past the war, just don't know when the break happened. The Angelus was an improvement because it only had to be wound once every eight days and this reduced the wear to the crown on these instruments. My guess is that after the war Rolex just became more focused on the consumer market, abandoning the dwindling Military business. The 615X are all IMO a Panerai attempt to retain and grow their instrument business thru innovation (no retrofits). It seems that in the long run this was not sustainable.

I'm not an expert by any means, also have the book. There's many knowledge gaps that are now open, even the authors acknowledge that record keeping of these military instruments was minimal. Also very surprised to learn that only the 3646 saw action during WWII! The book implies that the Angelus models were produced as an improvement to the 618s and as Panerai was still supplying the MM this leads me to believe that there was actually a # that was produced. Could it be possible that some of these watches were just upgrades? It is possible that they were only with a new caseback/caseback engraving produced. The real interesting schism that is not noted in the book is what appears to be a break with Rolex, which would lead to the use Angelus movements and ultimately to the Panerai produced cases. Was this the main reason Panerai stopped producing watches from the late 60's till the 1990s? The 6152/1 without crown protector device were definitely produced from one block of steel. Highly recommend the book, great learning and opens up many great questions too.

+1

I have one of the larger B&R models that would look just great Searched for PVD on the search tools but nothing came out Thanks in advance!