Panerai 6152 1 Italian Navy

For the first time in watchmaking history, a dial manufacturer (Panerai) is remembered as a watch manufacturer.

The watches that are considered historic Panerai watches were designed and produced by Rolex.
Brief history:
The Panerai 6152 1. The shapes of the previous ref. 3646 had shown that the flush lugs were not suitable for military and therefore extreme use, so Rolex at Panerai’s request made the new ref. 6152, the first post-war one. Rolex dedicated the ref. 6152 and 6154 to Panerai models and signed an exclusive agreement for Panerai on these two references. The first models were tested with the Radiomir dial of the earlier ref. 3646. After 1957 the dials were all Tritium, because phosphorus was out of the standard.

The result was a more imposing timepiece made from a single block of steel, with a screw-down case back, bezel and crystal (tropic 24) and an 8 mm Oyster crown (6152) . Between the lugs, a Rolex characteristic, the serial number at 6 o’clock and the reference with the Brevet + inscription at 12 o’clock.
Inside the case back we find the classic Rolex engravings with the punched reference.
The first dials were always very radioactive and this led to an alteration of the original colour from black to tobacco. Reference 6152 1 differs by a more compact case shape, without the edge of the profile, this because the new crown protection device was being studied which from then on became the symbol of Panerai. The glass was also changed to the new Tropic 25.
Rolex produced 500 watches 6152 1 with a number sequence starting from 1244** to 1249**.

The movement remained the Cortebert-derived Rolex 618, with the addition of the Incabloc shock-resistant device in two versions with 15 and 17 jewels. To protect the movement from magnetic fields, a soft iron cover was inserted under the case back.

The crown protector was patented at the end of 1955 and registered in 1956 and was fitted for the first time on the 6152 1. It provided protection for the winding crown and created a distinctive element of Panerai watches forever. The crown protection bridges were numbered on the back from 1 to 10, because the cases were hand-finished by Rolex and there could be slight irregularities in the measurements. These watches could not be bought in any shop, they had military specifications and were only for the use of our Armed Forces, in this case the Navy.

These watches were covered by military secrecy until the mid-1970s.

This fantastic watch not only traces the history of Italy and the Armed Forces but also the history of watchmaking.

Panerai 6152 1 Italian Navy
Serial 1245** produced in 1955

assignment M.M. 060

Case:
steel in very good condition
serial and reference perfectly visible between the lugs

Dial:
original Panerai Marina Militare dial
Tritium
in excellent condition

Case back:
original Rolex patended 6152 1
engraved with 060 navy assignment
in very good condition

Bracelet:
leather strap

Accessories: none

Price on Request