Sotheby’s New York features a Ref. 3646 / Type E in their Important Watches auction on June 8th, in New York (Lot 166). The watch has been added into our database back in 2007 with painted brass dial, Rolex 618 / Type 1 mod. movement and caseback without Rolex SA hallmark – features of a Ref. 3646 / Type E watch. In its actual condition, the watch is equipped with a re-manufatured dial (a sandwich construction of two brass discs and transparent plastic disc in the middle) with “Radiomir Panerai” lettering, made during restoration at the Officine Panerai customer service, dated March 2016.

Extract of Sotheby’s lot description about the re-manufactured dial:
The present 3646 recently underwent restoration at Officine Panerai, which included a re-manufactured dial with Superluminova and a complete service with extreme care made to retain original components and finishes, including remarkably retaining its original crystal.

The watch is mentioned together with other known Ref. 3646 watches with brass dials in our book “The References” in chapter II.IV on page 471 and in chapter II.V on page 565. Further information on painted brass dials in combination with the flat version of the bezel can be found in the chapter II.IV on page 472-479.

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]

[Photo of the Ref. 3646 / Type E watch with kindly permission / courtesy of www.sothebys.com]

One more piece to the puzzle added, another gap closed and a remarkable and noteworthy match in our Vintage Panerai database: Phillips features a rare Ref. 3646 / Type E “California Dial” on May, 15th (lot 122, The Geneva Watch Auction: THREE). Added into our records in March 2016, this specimen bears the important and typical internal and external details of a Ref. 3646 / Type E watch.

Watches of the Reference 3646 / Type E are featured in our new book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s in chapter II.V (page 532-573). With this new addition we have now recorded 27 watches in this group, extending the 3646 / Type E number range downwards by six numbers, filling another gap between the watches of the Reference 3646 / Type D and 3646 / Type E.

The information and measurement results provided by Phillips confirmed the cross-section of a 3646 / Type E caseback, which we put in the focus on page 536-539 of our new book. The caseback of this watch has been engraved with a name, date of birth and hometown of the first owner from Bavaria/Germany.

The Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 mod. movement in this “California Dial” watch is another important element, which appears with confirming details of most of the today recorded watches in this number group.

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]

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

The first volume of “The References” features watches of the Reference 3646 from seven different number groups, which we have sorted since 2009 into 3646 / Type A to 3646 / Type G. Some of the featured watches appear in untouched, unpolished and unrestored condition which are very interesting to discover after more than 70 years of their use during WW2.

The coffee table shot shows the Rolex 618 / Type 1 movement of a 3646 / Type B watch with riveted plastic dial (“Radiomir Panerai”) and engraved caseback on page 230-231 in chapter II.II (first volume).

Enjoy reading! Our new “The Reference” books are in stock and can be ordered only in our bookstore.

Christie’s has a Ref. 3646 / Type E “California Dial” in their next auction (LOT 219) in Geneva, november 11th. Great to see another surfaced watch matching the criteria of our database work.

Features of the watch:
Reference: 3646 / Type E
Dial: “California Dial”
Case number: 261078
Movement: Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 mod.

Typical features of Ref. 3646 / Type E watches are the removed / not existing Rolex stamp in the inner caseback and the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 mod. movement. You can compare the different inner caseback engravings in Ref. 3646 watches here. Also the “California Dial” is corresponding with the flat bezel of the watch – a typical combination of dial version and bezel. A Panerai dial with its sandwich construction would need a higher bezel due to its height. You can read more about 3646 / Type E watches in our book “Vintage Panerai – The References”.

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

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

A Vintage Panerai Ref. 3646 / Type E will be auctioned at Sotheby’s.

The inner caseback embossing is corresponding with the movement version of the Rolex Cal. 618 / Type 1 mod., typical for a 3646 / Type E watch – hopefully this “California Dial”  will find a good new home on may 15th…

An example of our classification work: The reference 3646 is divided into seven production groups (Type A – Type G), different caseback markings and numbers are important indicators.

The illustration shows the following caseback versions:
Ref. 3646 / Type D Brevetee Rolex S.A.
Ref. 3646 / Type E (plain / only number)
Ref. 3646 / Type F Brevetee Rolex S.A.
Ref. 3646 / Type G (plain / only number)

You can read and see more about the different versions of Ref. 3646 watches in our book “The References” 1930’s-1940’s. Find the illustrations of  ref. 3646 / Type A – Type C casebacks here.