Panerai - Radiomir “Small Egiziano” Reference 6154

OFFICINE PANERAI -  Radiomir “Small Egiziano” Reference 6154

THE REMARKABLE CHARISMA OF THE 6154: THE ”SMALL EGIZIANO” BY OFFICINE PANERAI, A STAR OF CHRISTIE’S AUCTION

On 14 December 2012, at the Rockfeller Center in New York, Officine Panerai was one of the undisputed stars of Christie’s “Important Watches” auction, an important event attracting the greatest watch collectors from all over the world. At the auction the 6154, renowned for its rare beauty and known by enthusiasts of the Florentine brand as the “Egiziano Piccolo” or “Small Egiziano”, was knocked down for the figure of $326,500, three times its pre-sale estimate of $80,000 to $120,000: a record price never before achieved by a Panerai watch.

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This exceptional watch created by Officine Panerai for the Egyptian Navy has a stainless steel case and its characteristic Panerai Radiomir brass dial was originally black. The copper colour which is so admired today is the result of the corrosive action of the Radiomir, the radium paste used to make the dial luminous, which having been in contact with the brass for many years has radically changed its colour. The remarkable result achieved in this auction is a confirmation of the fascination and power commanded by the history of Officine Panerai, a brand which looks forward to the future while always remaining true to its past.

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Lot Notes 
The present watch is one of the exceedingly rare examples of a Panerai reference 6154 to appear in public to date.

The "Small Egiziano" reference 6154
it is thought that Panerai supplied a small series of the present Radiomir model, attributed the reference number 6154, following a request of the Egyptian Navy. Members of the Egyptian Naval Forces attended the Commando School of the Italian Navy in the naval base of La Spezia asking for the same watches as their Italian brother-in-arms.

Nicknamed the "Small Egiziano" (Italian for "Egyptian"), reference 6154 features a smaller case than its counterpart reference 6152, the latter available with or without the protective crown guard. The movements and cases were supplied by Rolex, the dials featuring the luminous material developed by Panerai and patented as "Radiomir".

Regrettably, no documentation survived in regard to the precise number of the "Small Egiziani" produced. Scholarship however stipulates that no more than some 30 watches were supplied to the Egyptian Forces and that few other examples were made as prototypes.

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