PANERAI Luminor Marina, Ref. OP6518, PAM001, movement no. 175850, case no. BB982009, circa 1999 A fine and rare, early Vendome reference, water-resistant, stainless steel, hand wound, diver’s wristwatch with matte black dial, painted luminous baton indexes and Arabic 12,6 numerals, blackened luminous hands, constant second, leather strap and stainless steel Panerai buckle. Fitted with a caliber Eta 6497-2, manual winding, 17 jewels, rhodium-plated with Panerai special decoration, straight line lever escapement, shock-absorbers, self-compensating flat balance spring, monometallic balance, index regulator, blued steel screws. Screwed case back, crown guard, sapphire crystal, straight lugs with steel screwed bars. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 44 mm. Thickness 14.30 mm. The present watch was released shortly after the takeover of Panerai by the Vendome Group in 1997. Bearing Ref. OP6518 for PAM001, the certified chronometer caliber is based Eta/Unitas 6497-2. These early models, such as the present watch, were featuring a tritium coated dial, raison why the indexes and hands have taken a lovely ivory color over time.