GUEST: What I brought here was my father's Panerai Italian military wristwatch that he got during World War II from an Italian prisoner, because he acted as an, an, uh, as a military interpreter in a Italian prison that was here in the United States. My dad either bought the watch off of a prisoner or traded something or another. I'm not exactly sure.
APPRAISER: Where was this prisoner-of-war camp?
GUEST: It was in Princeton, Texas.
APPRAISER: He was already in the U.S. military.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And he was fluent in Italian.
GUEST: Yes. He was from Sicily, and that's what his job was for three years during the war.
APPRAISER: This is a reference 3646. It's a Panerai Radiomir made in association with Rolex. The Radiomir part refers to the radium on the dial, which was perfected by Panerai. The Radiomir part referring to the radium is just that: radioactive, dangerous, and poisonous. Radium used on the dials so that they glow in the dark.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: This particular model was made for the Italian navy, Italian military. This was essentially a frogman's watch. So this was a diver's watch. It's gigantic-- why? Because the very large strap that once went on this had to fit over the wetsuit.
GUEST: (gasps)
APPRAISER: They had to have the luminous, that Radiomir. They had to be large so they could see them through their goggles. The Rolex part came in with Panerai because Rolex was known for perfecting a waterproof case. So you got the Rolex for Panerai case, and then essentially what you have inside there is a Rolex pocket watch movement. The crystal on there, do you see how that's a little bit yellow?
GUEST: Yellow.
APPRAISER: In the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, until they really perfected the glass, this is a thick, heavy plastic, and over the years, it went from clear white to a yellow. So I'm gonna take this off.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And we're gonna see the face, which is black. Between the ingenious of Panerai, the quality of Rolex, the machining of the case, they created an absolute perfect watch.
GUEST: Gee whiz.
APPRAISER: Maybe about 1,000 to 2,000 were made specifically for the Italian military.
GUEST: Panerai is in business today, correct?
8:01 APPRAISER: Panerai is in business today. This one is 1940 to 1945. This is the first one to ever come to ROADSHOW. The issues are the crystal that turned a bit yellow and your dial-- it's a celluloid dial. As we can see, it's starting to buckle a little bit, but it certainly is repairable.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: So now, in terms of a value, any idea?
GUEST: $7,000.
APPRAISER: In today's market, retail, this watch will bring $50,000 to $60,000.
GUEST: Holy moly. That's a lot more than seven.
APPRAISER: A more mint-condition dial, these have brought up to $100,000 in recent years.
GUEST: Wowzer.
