Lot 156

Panerai

Radiomir

An important navy diver’s watch from the German Navy "type C", owned by attack diver Hans Greten. 63 watches of this "Type C" model are known to exist to date

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This historic timepiece comes from the family of the German "Kampfschwimmer" veteran Heinz Greten and is in excellent, largely original condition despite traces due to age and use. Only the luminous material in the blued baton hands has been restored and the case expertly polished. Characteristic of the C-type is the darkened, deep orange luminous material of the numerals and indexes on the "sandwich" type dial, which is due to the varying composition of the Radiomir lacquer.
The watch has a cushion-shaped case with slightly downward-turned lugs, another characteristic feature of the C-series watches.
The inner case back has an ornamental circular cut around the rim and bears the typical Rolex SA hallmark, reference number and case number in the centre, ranging from 1010091 to 1010374 in the C-series number range. The outer caseback has the personal signature engraving of the attack diver Hans Greten, a mechanic's mate who was deployed in Antwerp during Operation "Bruno" on the night of 15-16 September 1944 during the destruction of the Kreuzschanzschleuse in Antwerp.
The mission ("Operation Bruno" – the attack of the Kruisschans floodgates in Antwerp) is documented in the book "Sabotage unter Wasser" written by Michael Jung (2004) on page 120-121, as well as a photo of Hans Greten on page 107. Further info on this frogmen mission is also found in the book "Das Kommando der Kleinkampfverbände der Kriegsmarine" written by Helmut Blocksdorf (2003), on page 181. The earliest documentation of the mission is dating back to 1956 in the book "…denn sie liebten doch das Leben" written by Cajus Bekker (chapter six, page 148-160), in which Greten is mentioned several times (all books are written in German language).
This watch is described and illustrated in detail at: www.vintagepanerai.com/2022/04/15/ref-3646-type-c-kampfschwimmer-dr-crott/
With the kind support of Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann, www.vintagepanerai.com, the highly recommended website for vintage Panerai watches.
Further watches of the reference 3646 / type C are featured in the book "Vintage Panerai - The References 1930's-1940's" by Ralf Ehlers & Volker Wiegmann in chapter II.III (page 248-397).

Because of the 1914 invention of the luminous material "Radiomir" - a mix of zinc sulfide and radium bromide - the Panerai dials could be read well at night and in deep water. Panerai made use of this advantage in his watches and was commissioned to produce the first diver's wristwatches, called "Radiomir". The first prototypes were still produced at Rolex, the later watches and their cases were produced at Panerai according to Oyster standards. In 1936 the Panerai Radiomir became a part of the secret naval equipment.
Source: "Armbanduhren Klassik Katalog", Koenigswinter 2005, page 146.