Replica Panerai Radiomir Guido Panerai and Son PAM01346
An important, although less known, model plus an important and very well-known caliber. Inspired by a watch from the 1960s, the Radiomir Guido Replica Panerai & Figlio PAM01346 is not only a piece of history, but also a collector’s rarity that will appear at the November auction of the Phillips house.
There have been secrets, surprises and twists in the history of the Panerai brand. It all started with Giovanni Panerai, who was the first watchmaker in Florence to open his shop in the second half of the 19th century. But it was his grandson, Guido, who made Svizzera’s Orologeria appear more widely. And literally, because it became the official supplier of divers’ watches from the Royal Italian Navy.
Guido Panerai was not only a successful businessman, but also an inventor. The luminous material he discovered was given the name Radiomir, which Giuseppe Panerai (Guido’s son) later used to create a new series of watches. Radiomir watches were powered by Swiss calibers: first from Rolex, and later also from Angelus. And here we come to the Ref. 3646 variant, produced for the Italian Navy in the 1960s.
Recently, the Panerai brand recalled this fragment of its history by presenting a unique Radiomir Guido Panerai & Figlio PAM01346 model (one piece was created), which on November 3 this year. will be offered at a special auction organized in Geneva by the Phillips auction house. All proceeds from the sale, including the auction house premium, will support the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission established by UNESCO. Her tasks include, among others: coordination of international research programs on seas and oceans, sustainable development and protection of the marine environment. The money from the sale of Radiomir is to finance UNESCO’s campaign to raise awareness of the skillful use of the oceans.
Following the original from 1960, the PAM01346 has a 47 mm diameter case with solid lugs, although in this case the case is not made of steel, but of a proprietary platinum alloy called Platinumtech, which is harder and more durable than platinum. As in the historical version, the sandwich dial shows a small seconds hand at 1 o’clock. 9. and wide hands: hour and minute (here: gold-plated). Fans of the Panerai brand will certainly notice the lack of the engraved “BREVET” inscription and the Swiss cross symbol on the crown. Instead, there is a historic, hand-wound caliber Angelus SF 240 from June 1961.
PAM01346 comes with two straps: a longer vintage-style strap made by Cuoierie Meccaniche Brelli, the historic supplier of straps to Officine Panerai, and a second one in calfskin with a pin clasp in white gold.
