The picture of a 6154 attached here was described by Antiquorum as:
“Military” Rolex “Oyster Precision”, Ref 6154, case No. 997572. Made in 1954. Exceptionally rare and fine large, cushion-shaped, water-resistant, stainless steel, military diver’s watch with a stainless steel Rolex buckle. Three-body, polished, screwed-down case back, strain lugs, 8mm Rolex screwed-down winding crown, dustprotection cap. D. Black with luminous round and baton indexes, outer minute divisions. Luminous “baton” hands. M. Cal 618 – 15 3/4″, signed Rolex, rhodium-plated, “faussses cotes” decoration, 15 jewels, straightline lever escapement, monometalic balance, shock-absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring, index regulator. Dial case and movement signed. Dim. 47 47mm. Thickness 14mm.”
Antiquorum continues the description:
“The Ref. 6154 is identical in case and movement to the watches supplied by Rolex to Panerai, under the same reference number. The difference between the watch made by Rolex for Panerai and the present model is in the dial. The Rolex dial is a traditional single plate with luminous coated indexes, whereas the Panerai dial is a two-plate dial, the first plate being coated with luminous material and the second plate pierced through for the indexes and numerals. Rolex Ref. 6154 is mentioned in the combined reference booklet sent by Rolex to their various retailers and workshops in the 1950s. To our knowledge only 6 pieces were made of this model; this is the first one.”
The 1950’s to 1980’s were not well documented, with a few occasional models/ prototypes in circulation (e.g. Milli Metri) where never went into production…
Fast forward to 1993, and the Officine Panerai brand was resurrected. The company based their new models largely on the historic Rolex made models from the past. Sales were sluggish, and that was until American actor Sylvester Stallone happened to walk into the Panerai boutique in Florence. Sylvester “Sly” was so passionate about the Panerai designs that he bought a few at one go, and wore them in the movie he was just about to make titled “Daylight”. He also gave one Panerai to his long-time friend – Arnold Schwarzenegger – who grew to become an avid Panerai fan as well. Almost overnight, Panerai took off and has been extremely successful ever since.
In today’s context, many Panerai models have been re-introduced as an inspiration from its previous models. One of the first models which drew its roots from the vintage Panerai 6152/1 Luminor watch was the PAM127 aka Fiddy. Since then, quite a few models were introduced with this case, among those the 212, 213, 210, 233, 270, 311, 317, 275 and the submersibles PAM243 and the new titanium submersible PAM305. Other new Manifattura watches that were introduced in 2009, have a 1950’s style case too (312, 320, 321, 328 and 329).
To commemorate Sylvester Stallone’s custom made Luminor Daylight Slytech, Officine Panerai also developed a new model with similar features, otherwise known as Special Edition PAM785. It includes the white dialed Luminor Daylight model as well as a Luminor Black Seal, which has been treated with a DLC finish. Both watches have patina styled hands and customized dials, the white dial being the ‘Daylight’ and the black dial being the ‘Black Seal’.
Panerai Luminor Daylight & Black Seal DLC 8 Days Acciaio – Special Edition Set
In 2005, Officine Panerai also launched its first in-house movement, the P.2002: a hand-wound calibre with GMT function and an eight-day power reserve, similar to the Angelus movements used in the 1940s. Subsequently, Panerai released many more new calibres, the P.2003, P.2004, P.2005, P.2006 and P.2009, making the tradition of this fine watchmaking complication its own and at the same time innovating the device. And as they say, the rest is history. For more info, please visit panerai.com
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James Phang – Contributing Writer
James Phang is a young watch enthusiast from Singapore and is self-professed fanatic of independent brands for their unique avant-garde designs. Some of his favourite brands include MB&F, Urwerk, Romain Jerome, Sarpaneva, Peter Speake Marin and Azimuth. His love for art extends out to all things handmade, and he has made it his personal mission to find the best handmade straps and buckles worldwide for his humble collection. Read his articles here.
