AnthonyTsai
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Officine Panerai and Artcurial Announce the Record-Breaking Results of their "Panerai Only
Milan. December 2014 . The “Panerai Only” auction held in Paris on 8 December at Artcurial ended with proceeds of more than one million euros and it was entirely devoted to the historic watches of Officine Panerai, the Florentine high quality sports watchmaker and historic supplier to the Italian Navy.
“PANERAI ONLY” IN PARIS:
PROCEEDS OF OVER ONE MILLION EUROS AND TWO WORLD RECORDS
Record prices for the sale of a Radiomir Egiziano of 1956
and a Radiomir PAM00021 of 1997
In the course of the auction two world records were broken by two models of great importance in the history of Officine Panerai. The first was an extremely rare “Radiomir Egiziano”, the diver’s watch made in 1956 for the Egyptian Navy. Highly regarded by enthusiasts for its iconic design and its impressive size (the diameter of the case is 60mm), it was sold for 125,800 euros (US$155,000), beating the previous record price for this model.
The other world record was broken by a Radiomir PAM00021, a Special Edition of 1997 in platinum, with a case design extremely faithful to that of the watch created by Officine Panerai for the frogmen of the Royal Italian Navy in 1938. This highly coveted Special Edition, fitted with a vintage Rolex movement, like many historic Panerai models, was sold for 103,500 euros (US$127,000).
Two other vintage models, a Luminor and a Marina Militare, both with Rolex movements, each made over 120,000 euros, well above the initial auction estimates, while a Luminor 1950 8 Days (PAM00203), a Special Edition of 2005 with an Angelus eight-day mechanical movement, was sold for about 70,000 euros (more than US$85,000).
The single-make watch auction consisted of about 100 models, divided into three sections: Vintage (1930-1950), "Pre-Vendome" (1993-1997) and “Vendome" (1997 to the present).
Vintage Panerai watches are regularly the subject of exciting bidding at auctions where collectors and enthusiastic connoisseurs compete for examples which are often unique, given the rarity of the timepieces produced by the Florentine watchmaker in the course of its history. In fact Panerai watches were never produced for commercial sale until 1993, when the first collection was presented to the civilian public. All the rare Panerai historic pieces were produced to fulfil military orders between 1936, the year in which the first prototype of the Radiomir watch was created for use during the underwater missions of the commando frogmen of the Royal Italian Navy, and the 1950s. This rarity, combined with the timeless design and the still remarkably up-to-date appearance of the watches, is the basis of the continuous rise in the value of Panerai models, not only vintage ones but also many that have been produced more recently in limited editions faithfully inspired by the models of the past.
OFFICINE PANERAI
Founded in Florence in 1860 as a workshop, shop and watchmaking school, Officine Panerai was for many years the supplier of precision instruments to the Italian Navy, particularly to meet the requirements of its commando frogmen. The projects developed in this period – including the Luminor and Radiomir watches – were covered by conditions of military secrecy for many years and their launch on the international market only took place following the Richemont Group’s acquisition of the brand in 1997. Today in its manufacture at Neuchâtel, Officine Panerai develops and produces its own movements and watches, which are a synthesis of Italian design and history with Swiss manufacturing skill and craftsmanship. They are sold all over the world through an exclusive network of distributors and own-brand boutiques.
ARTCURIAL
About Artcurial – Founded in 2002, Artcurial confirmed its position as the premier French auction house in 2013 with 123 sales organised by its 20 specialist departments. The auction house’s sales were 178.1 million euros in 2013, an increase of 24% compared to 2012. Notably it realised the third highest auction price of the year in France when Aristide Maillol’s sculpture “La Rivière” (“The River”) was sold for more than 6.1 million euros. It also confirmed its leadership in the fields of European comic books, collector’s cars in continental Europe, jewellery and watches in France and Monaco, and Old Master paintings in Paris. For two years the watch department of Artcurial has grown significantly, with a turnover which doubled in the first half of 2014 compared to 2013. This summer in Monte Carlo, under the leadership of Marie Sanna-Legrand and the expert Romain Réa, the department has recorded a growth of 38% compared to the sales of 2013, reaching a figure of over 2 million euros, placing Artcurial in the leading position in the market. With a strong international commitment, Artcurial has a strong presence in other countries through its representative offices in Milan, Brussels and Vienna, and travelling exhibitions in the United States and Asia.
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2014-12-13 09:37:23
