Officine Panerai begins its commercial adventure in 1993
1993 was a big year for Officine Panerai. Having only supplied watches and highly specialised equipment to the military previously, the brand entered the commercial market, due to the extreme tightening of Military expenses, with a small selection of references in numbered and limited editions, drawing inspiration from the historical models created for the underwater division of the Italian Navy.
The History of the Panerai Luminor Pre-Vendôme Logo 5218-201a
One of these references was the 5218-201a, a Panerai Luminor in a 44mm steel case, designed by Guenat SA Montres Valgine (which would then become widely known as the "Bettarini case"). It featured integrated lugs and the iconic crown-protection mechanism, ensuring water resistance up to 30 ATM (300 meters / 1,000 feet). The cushion-shaped case design was subtly updated from the historic reference 6152-1, giving this new model its own distinctive character.
It was nicknamed the “Logo” due to its distinctive “OP” on the dial. The "OP" Logo was designed in 1984 under the management of Dino Zei, previously an officer of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy), who also changed the company name from "G. Panerai e Figlio" to "Officine Panerai SpA". Approximately 677 were produced with around a 1/3rd of those later used for Sylvestor Stallone’s editions.
How Panerai's "Non-Matching" Dials came into being
The black dial was made from brass, with arabic numerals for the 12, 3, 6 and 9, and barred markers for the rest. The markers were milled and filled with a Tritium compound, with the hands treated with the same material. Initially, a varnish was used in production to preserve the markers, but unexpectedly reacted with the luminous material, creating a magnificent orange-brownish hue that did not match the hands. This fault was quickly identified and replaced with another varnish to prevent the “non-matching” effect.
It’s unknown on the exact number of Non-Matching dials produced, but the consensus ‘guess’ is less than 30.
Of those 30, a fraction will come complete with their box & papers in fair condition.
An overview of the design and presentation of the Panerai Luminor Logo
The 12-sided screw-down case back was engraved with "Officine Panerai Firenze" and the 'OP' logo. Beneath the caseback powering the watch was the hand-wound Unitas 6497 movement, operating at 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) and providing a 46-hour power reserve.
The watch came in a mahogany box with a silver Panerai plaque on the front, Panerai documentation, an additional strap, a screwdriver, and spare screws and tubes for strap replacement.
This particular example is a truly exceptional example, which many would consider complete as a collectors set. It includes the brass screwdriver, swing tag, two incredible OEM straps, OEM screws and papers with serial number detailed on the certificate.
How the 5218-201a is performing in today's market
Since the model's release, the 5218-201a originally sold between $1,000-$2,000 for their original RRP, which at the time were not the easiest to sell as it was still an unknown brand within the Swiss watch market.
Over the years, they have reached highs of $75,000 for Non-Matching dials between 2010-2018, and have now consolidated to around $45,000 for a superb collector's set in today's market. For matching dials, prices have seemed to consolidate to between $20,000-$24,000 depending on the set/condition.
For an example with a load of provenance, Stallone's more generic "Matching Dial" 5218-201a sold at auction for over $210,000! For other examples at auction, over the years the average value has been between £18,000-£20,000.
