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Patek Philippe
"Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Chronograph"
An impressive and important yellow gold openface pocket watch with minute repeater, perpetual calendar, moonphases, single-button chronograph and enamel dial and French import hallmark
Full-Cataloguing
- Minute repeater, perpetual calendar, moonphases, single-button chronograph
- This is an incredible example of true “Grand Comp” pocket Patek Philippe from 1918, a pinnacle of watchmaking
- The enamel dial is flawlessly preserved
- The watch is fresh to the auction market
True Grand Complication pieces are usually defined as bearing one complication each from these three “realms": a calendar complication, a timing complication and a chiming complication. This pocket watch fully falls into this category, making it an incredibly attractive representative of early twentieth century watchmaking.
In fact, while the watch was sold in 1930, the movement itself dates back to 1918; one can only imagine the difficulty (and cost: the watch took about 12 years to find a buyer) of devising and realizing such a complicated pieces back then.
Such difficulties imply an extremely restricted production, and century or so that passed by in the meanwhile surely helped to rarify extant examples even more. So, it is more than a surprise when a piece in such incredible condition comes to light, with a virtually perfect enamel dial and an equally well preserved case. Furthermore, this is the first time the watch comes to auction, adding an additional layer of thrill and collectability to this superb timepiece.
Patek Philippe
Swiss | 1839Since its founding in 1839, this famous Geneva-based firm has been surprising its clientele with superbly crafted timepieces fitted with watchmaking's most prestigious complications. Traditional and conservative designs are found across Patek Philippe's watches made throughout their history — the utmost in understated elegance.
Well-known for the Graves Supercomplication — a highly complicated pocket watch that was the world’s most complicated watch for 50 years — this family-owned brand has earned a reputation of excellence around the world. Patek's complicated vintage watches hold the highest number of world records for results achieved at auction compared with any other brand. For collectors, key models include the reference 1518, the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, and its successor, the reference 2499. Other famous models include perpetual calendars such as the ref. 1526, ref. 3448 and 3450, chronographs such as the reference 130, 530 and 1463, as well as reference 1436 and 1563 split seconds chronographs. Patek is also well-known for their classically styled, time-only "Calatrava" dress watches, and the "Nautilus," an iconic luxury sports watch first introduced in 1976 as the reference 3700 that is still in production today.