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Panerai

The Panerai brand was started in Florence,1860 by Giovanni Panerai who opened his first shop and watchmaking school to the general public. Panerai weren’t creating the iconic cushion shaped wristwatches that we know and love today back then. In 1936, they were commissioned to create a prototype watch specifically for the Italian Navy’s frogmen, known as the Radiomir. Since then, new models and variations have been successfully introduced by the company, and they are now one of the most iconic watch brands, with some of the vintage examples achieving incredibly high prices in auction.

Fellows had the privilege of selling two Panerai timepieces from World War II. The first was sold in January 2018 for £52,316 including fees. This watch came into the possession of a British soldier during the Second World War. George H. Rowson acquired the watch from a Kampfschwimmer (German frogman), during a thwarted attempted on behalf of the German forces to destroy the important Nijmegen Bridge in the Netherlands, in September 1944.

Following the success of the first Panerai we were delighted to consign a historic military Panerai watch head. This item came along with Captain Packer’s military issue jacket, photograph, military service records and a fascinating personal diary depicting the experiences of the regiment in 1944. Including fees, it sold for £53,592 in April 2019.