The 6152 project
One of a kind
One of a kind
This is a project I that made me proud, not because it came out especially nice, but because of the way this case set got to life.
I won't tell the whole story but let me thank Davdew for the impressive amount of work he put into the production of this case.
And let me tell you this is hands the best made case I put my hands on. It is immediately clear that no short cut has been taken here, the case is an almost perfect homage of its reference. Only very little shaping and some careful refinishing were needed here, and the result has been very satisfactory.
If you're not as deep into the rabbit hole as I am you might not be aware that this is NOT the same case used for the later 6152/1 CG and no CG watches. There IS a difference between these two references.
The 6152 was the first post-war watch released by Panerai in 1953 as a substitute of the 3646. Of course there have been prototypes before like the welded lugs or the hornlug, but this was the first one that made it to production.
The case featured solid lugs, a major improvement over the proven-to-be weak soldered lugs of the 3646 reference.
Besides it created the base for all of Panerai's future design: Thick plexi, bigger brevet crown, pressure fit bezel, screw down case back and the first embryo of the now called 1950 midcase that's been essentialy the same until nowadays.
But that's not enough, to make this case even more special it also features a similar crease at the centre of the carrure which is very similar to the later 6154 case set.
I mean, what more can you ask?
Well, I did my best to try and give justice to this case. As usual Bigwaved was my accomplice on this project, he took care of luming and finishing the dial.
A small note on this detail, this is one of Nightwatches new 3646 dials. I thought this type would have been correct for this watch. It features the new resin filled indices which have exceptional clarity, really eye catching if you ask me.
The final touch was the strap, for which I asked my friend Alfio from Bakeka to make a custom one with some vintage leather he had. The grain and patina are a perfect match for this watch imho, and of course the strap is extremely pliable and comfortable.
A few more pics:
That's all, but just for now. There will be more to come.
Hope you enjoyed the reading and pics
