Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Geneva, Nov 16, 2008

LOT 312

The ?Big Egiziano? Set

CHF 100,000 - 130,000

USD 90,000 - 120,000 / EUR 60,000 - 80,000

Sold: CHF 120,000

A. Officine Panerai, Firenze, ?Radiomir, 8 Giorni, Brevettato?, No. 002, Ref. GPF 2/56.Made in only 50 examples in February 1956 for the Egyptian Navy Special Forces. Very fine and extremely rare, important, oversized, water-resistant, 8 day-going, stainless steel military diver?s wristwatch with the original Officine Panerai water-repellent leather strap and the original stainless steel Officine Panerai buckle engraved with the number ?8?.
C. Three-body, polished, graduated five-minute uni-directional revolving bezel with luminous dot at 12, patented crown with security lever, concave lugs, case back with 6 anti-magnetic screws, inside the case back engraved ?MOD. GPF 2/56, BREVETTATO, MATR. N.E. 002?. D. Black ?Sandwich? with luminous Arabic numerals and baton indexes, subsidiary dial for the seconds at 9. Luminous steel baton hands. M. Cal. Angelus 240, rhodium plated, 15 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring.
Dial and case signed Panerai, movement signed Angelus. Diam. 60 mm. Thickness 19 mm.

B. Officine Panerai, Firenze, ?Brevettato?, Ref. GPF 4/55. Made in the 1950s. Very fine and rare, antimagnetic, stainless steel military diver?s compass. Made of an antimagnetic stainless steel base with attached robust transparent monoblock plexiglass case, luminous indexes in relief and magnetic dial immersed in liquid. Diam. 69 mm. Thickness: 33 mm. In good condition


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Thismodel features the extremely rare original Panerai water-repellent leather strap and the original stainless steel Panerai buckle engraved with the number 8 indicating an 8 day-going wristwatch. The inside case back is engraved with ?MOD. GPF 2/56, BREVETTATO, MATR. N.E. 002?; ?GPF? stands for Guido Panerai & Figlio, ?2/56? stands for the production date (February 1956) and ?MATR N.E. 002? for this particular watch?s number (No. 2 of 50).
The Egizianos
In the 1950s the Italian Navy invited a group of Egyptian Navy officiers to a special underwater military operation training session. Impressed by the accuracy and robustness of the Italian divers? wristwatches, around 1954 the Egyptian Navy ordered several examples of Radiomir reference 6154, with the old style radioactive dials and without the protective device. The case was slightly different from that of references ?6152? and ?6152/1?, and it is called ?the small Egiziano? by Panerai collectors. In 1956 Panerai produced another special wristwatch for the Egyptian Navy, reference GPF 2/56. This new reference was designed by Egyptian Navy Commander Fawzi. It had a diameter of 60 mm, a thickness of 19 mm, a special five minute unidirectional revolving bezel and an 8 day movement (Angelus 240) with the Panerai patented winding crown protecting device. To the best of our knowledge this reference was produced in only 50 examples. Due to its large size, Panerai collectors call it ?the big Egiziano?. Today it is one the most sought-after vintage Panerais.