Gilbert Albert is beloved for his novel and daring designs that completely departed from the quotidian during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1955, Patek Philippe teamed up with the designer to produce a series of unusual wristwatches. The talented artist took inspiration from modern artists such as Brancusi and Mondrian, and his daring and unconventional case designs are considered as cutting-edge today as they were 60 years ago.

Fresh to the auction market, the present watch belongs to the famous “Asymétrie” collection of asymmetrical timepieces. While some of Albert’s modern designs never went beyond the prototype stage due to the uncertainty of their commercial success, Henri Stern, then chairman of Patek Philippe, was seduced by the present case design and approved its manufacture. Thus, reference 3424 was in fact produced, albeit in extremely limited numbers. The case maker chosen for this very unusual creation was Geneva-based Markowski (identified by the number 8 in a Key).

The watch here on offer, however, is not a simple 3424, but the much more exclusive /1 version denoting the sublime baguette diamond setting. Gem-set pieces commanded - back then as it is now - a remarkable increase in retail price (especially in the case of baguette-cut stones, such as in this instance), and the market was not yet very receptive of this trend. The situation is exemplified by the fact that the present watch was made in 1961 and sold more than two decades later, in 1984. One can then understand how restricted production of these pieces was. As a matter of fact, while 10 examples of reference 3424 in platinum are known, the present watch one of only four examples of the hyper-exclusive /1 gem-set version.