Bidder Beware: Rolex/fake Panerai Reference 6154

Okay, so I will not replica watches come down one way or another on this watch, but I will say that some Rolex and fake Panerai experts I spoke with have their doubts about the originality of the dial on this reference 6154. It may have originally been a Panerai dial and someone may have switched it for a Rolex dial (I am not sure if it is a real Rolex dial or not – there is disagreement among the experts) in order to make a more valuable watch. This replica watches exact same watch (with case 997572) appears to have been sold at Antiquorum in Geneva in October 2007 for 221,500 CHF. In June 2006 in New York, it appears the same watch or a similar watch (a serial number is not given) sold for $84,960, so it was an incredible jump in price in 16 months.

I am a little concerned about the discrepancies in the Antiquorum lot descriptions. For the June 2006 sale, the description states, “According to the archives of Rolex, only 31 pieces were made of this model and this is the No. 1.” For the October 2007 sale, the description states, “To our knowledge only 6 pieces were made of this model; this is the first one.” Hmmmmm.

If you have any thoughts on whether this is a real dial or not, we would welcome them in the comments. I do know that I wish Rolex would issue extracts or certificates of authenticity. It would completely change the vintage Rolex collecting game.