Time Pieces
See also : Clocks French time pieces Silverware Patek Philippe Development of Patek Philippe Patek Philippe 1945-1980 Rolex Modern watches New watches Switzerland < 1940 Louis XVIII to 2nd Empire
Chronology : 1830-1839 1933 1953 1968 2010 to now
Chronology : 1830-1839 1933 1953 1968 2010 to now
1835 The Clock of the Duc d'Orléans
2012 SOLD 6.8 M$ including premium
The most extraordinary ancient timepiece that was recently sold at auction is the clock of the duc d'Orléans, reaching $ 5.8 million including premium at Sotheby's in New York on 2 December 1999. It is listed again on December 4 by the same auction house. Here is the link to the catalog.
In 1795, Abraham-Louis Breguet imagines the combination of a clock and a watch. This outstanding inventor manages later to achieve this stupendous set known as Breguet Sympathique.
After being used during the day, the watch is repositioned in a cradle at the top of the clock. At midnight, the clock triggers a mechanism that enters the watch, measures and rectifies the error. After a few days, the value of the error is integrated into the beat of the watch and its adjustment becomes automatic.
When Breguet died in 1823, five copies have been made. Only kings can afford to own such an expensive mechanism.
Being an extremely remote cousin of Charles X, Louis Philippe I becomes King of France after a revolution. His eldest son, the duc d'Orléans, is a brilliant prince who would like to live again in the luxury of the Ancien Régime. He commissions his sympathique clock to the Breguet workshop. It is completed in 1835.
Luxury adds to technical feat. 58 cm high, the piece is made in the imitation of Boulle style which is so fashionable in that time, in a cabinet by Bellangé and with Denière bronzes on a design by Questel.
The clock and the watch of this set have not been separated. Having been restored to operation by George Daniels, it provides an exceptional demonstration of one of the most advanced ideas of automatism.
POST SALE COMMENT
Again a great and deserved price for this fabulous clock: $ 6.8 million including premium.
In 1795, Abraham-Louis Breguet imagines the combination of a clock and a watch. This outstanding inventor manages later to achieve this stupendous set known as Breguet Sympathique.
After being used during the day, the watch is repositioned in a cradle at the top of the clock. At midnight, the clock triggers a mechanism that enters the watch, measures and rectifies the error. After a few days, the value of the error is integrated into the beat of the watch and its adjustment becomes automatic.
When Breguet died in 1823, five copies have been made. Only kings can afford to own such an expensive mechanism.
Being an extremely remote cousin of Charles X, Louis Philippe I becomes King of France after a revolution. His eldest son, the duc d'Orléans, is a brilliant prince who would like to live again in the luxury of the Ancien Régime. He commissions his sympathique clock to the Breguet workshop. It is completed in 1835.
Luxury adds to technical feat. 58 cm high, the piece is made in the imitation of Boulle style which is so fashionable in that time, in a cabinet by Bellangé and with Denière bronzes on a design by Questel.
The clock and the watch of this set have not been separated. Having been restored to operation by George Daniels, it provides an exceptional demonstration of one of the most advanced ideas of automatism.
POST SALE COMMENT
Again a great and deserved price for this fabulous clock: $ 6.8 million including premium.
1902 The Rothschild Egg by Fabergé
2007 SOLD for £ 9M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
Each imperial egg prepared by Fabergé had to bring an innovation. In 1900 the egg offered by Tsar Nicholas II to the Empress Maria Feodorovna was a clock. The surprise is an automaton cockerel that appears for striking the hours.
Fabergé is an entrepreneur who knows how to satisfy the richest customers around the world, eager to find the most sumptuous gifts for their wives. Two non-imperial variants from the cockerel egg are known, one made in 1902 for the French branch of the Rothschild family, the other in 1904 for a Russian nobleman.
The Rothschild egg was an engagement gift by Béatrice de Rothschild to Germaine Halphen who will become her sister-in-law in 1905. Stayed with that family, it surfaced in a sale by Christie's on November 28, 2007. It was sold for £ 9M including premium, lot 55. Please watch the post sale video shared by Russia Today.
This piece 27 cm high in closed position is made of solid silver enamelled in transparent pink on a guilloche background and weighs 3,645 g. To mark the hours, the lid opens to let rising a multicolored chantecler in enamelled gold set with small diamonds. For 15 seconds, the bird flaps its wings, sings while moving its head, opens and closes its beak and ends the movement by banging a bell before descending back to its original place.
This egg is dated, signed by Fabergé and stamped by the workmaster Perchin. A photo taken during its make features Perchin with his assistant Wigström who will succeed him in 1903.
Fabergé is an entrepreneur who knows how to satisfy the richest customers around the world, eager to find the most sumptuous gifts for their wives. Two non-imperial variants from the cockerel egg are known, one made in 1902 for the French branch of the Rothschild family, the other in 1904 for a Russian nobleman.
The Rothschild egg was an engagement gift by Béatrice de Rothschild to Germaine Halphen who will become her sister-in-law in 1905. Stayed with that family, it surfaced in a sale by Christie's on November 28, 2007. It was sold for £ 9M including premium, lot 55. Please watch the post sale video shared by Russia Today.
This piece 27 cm high in closed position is made of solid silver enamelled in transparent pink on a guilloche background and weighs 3,645 g. To mark the hours, the lid opens to let rising a multicolored chantecler in enamelled gold set with small diamonds. For 15 seconds, the bird flaps its wings, sings while moving its head, opens and closes its beak and ends the movement by banging a bell before descending back to its original place.
This egg is dated, signed by Fabergé and stamped by the workmaster Perchin. A photo taken during its make features Perchin with his assistant Wigström who will succeed him in 1903.
Surtout connu pour ses œufs, le légendaire joaillier #Fabergé a également été un pionnier dans le travail de l’email https://t.co/jX2LfcNu0D pic.twitter.com/w2yPxpTyd4
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) May 23, 2017
Quick trip down memory lane - Christie’s currently holds the #record for the most expensive #RussianWorkofArt sold in the category, the #Rothschild #Fabergé Egg which sold for US$18,576,214 in 2007: https://t.co/qF6ZxJv7RA pic.twitter.com/ONoxXplZcx
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) April 9, 2019
1933 Supercomplication for the Use of New York
2014 SOLD for CHF 23.2M including premium
Patek Philippe knew to listen to their wealthy private clients. The Geneva brand remains for that reason since over a century the pioneer of miniaturization accompanied by an increasing number of complications in pocket watches and later in wristwatches.
By 1900, the Palmer specimen was a pocket watch with minute repeater, months, days of the week, split-second chronograph, grande and petite sonnerie and the phases of the moon.
James Ward Packard, the car industrialist, was one of the most demanding customers of Patek Philippe. In 1916, he obtained a pocket watch with sixteen complications, and in 1927 he had a celestial chart added to nine other complications in a single watch.
When Packard died in 1928, the New York banker Henry Graves Jr. had already ordered the world's most complicated pocket watch, with 24 complications divided into two dials including the night time sky from New York City.
Completed in 1932, the Supercomplication is a unique piece for which Patek Philippe had mobilized their best specialists. The assembly of its 920 components in a case 74 mm in diameter and 36 mm thick is a technical feat that will remain unmatched until the era of computer-aided design.
The Supercomplication was delivered to Graves on 19 January 1933 for CHF 60K, nearly five times the price of the ultimate Packard watch. It was sold for $ 11M including premium by Sotheby's on December 2, 1999. It is for sale by Sotheby's in Geneva on November 11, lot 345.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
By 1900, the Palmer specimen was a pocket watch with minute repeater, months, days of the week, split-second chronograph, grande and petite sonnerie and the phases of the moon.
James Ward Packard, the car industrialist, was one of the most demanding customers of Patek Philippe. In 1916, he obtained a pocket watch with sixteen complications, and in 1927 he had a celestial chart added to nine other complications in a single watch.
When Packard died in 1928, the New York banker Henry Graves Jr. had already ordered the world's most complicated pocket watch, with 24 complications divided into two dials including the night time sky from New York City.
Completed in 1932, the Supercomplication is a unique piece for which Patek Philippe had mobilized their best specialists. The assembly of its 920 components in a case 74 mm in diameter and 36 mm thick is a technical feat that will remain unmatched until the era of computer-aided design.
The Supercomplication was delivered to Graves on 19 January 1933 for CHF 60K, nearly five times the price of the ultimate Packard watch. It was sold for $ 11M including premium by Sotheby's on December 2, 1999. It is for sale by Sotheby's in Geneva on November 11, lot 345.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
1943 Steel against the Wear of Time
2016 SOLD for CHF 11M including premium
Until the second world war and a little beyond, the use of stainless steel is exceptional in the high-end wristwatches made by Patek Philippe. Owners identify luxury with gold or platinum. Steel watches are produced on special request from customers who fear some wearing related to their own heavy use.
The Reference 1518 is in production from 1941 to 1954. In the following of some pre-war prototypes, it is the first commercial model to offer altogether these two appealing complications which are the chronograph and the perpetual calendar, in addition to the moon phases.
It is ahead of its time and patrons do not rush. 281 watches are built in this reference which is an average of 20 per year. Most are in yellow gold. 34 of them are in pink gold : one of them previously discussed in this column was sold for $ 795K including premium by Antiquorum on April 10, 2013 ; another one, made in 1948, is for sale in Geneva by Phillips on November 13, lot 196.
The 1518 in stainless steel are extremely rare : only four are known. This is not really surprising : we must indeed recognize some contradiction between the need for a perpetual calendar and the fear of wear.
The first two 1518 in stainless steel were manufactured in 1943 and sold together to a same customer in February of the next year. One of them remaining in an immaculate condition had probably been intended by him as a spare. It is for sale by Phillips in Geneva on November 12, lot 38. The press release of September 22 is announcing an estimate in excess of CHF 3M.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Stainless steel : SOLD for CHF 11M
Pink gold : SOLD for CHF 1.47M
The Reference 1518 is in production from 1941 to 1954. In the following of some pre-war prototypes, it is the first commercial model to offer altogether these two appealing complications which are the chronograph and the perpetual calendar, in addition to the moon phases.
It is ahead of its time and patrons do not rush. 281 watches are built in this reference which is an average of 20 per year. Most are in yellow gold. 34 of them are in pink gold : one of them previously discussed in this column was sold for $ 795K including premium by Antiquorum on April 10, 2013 ; another one, made in 1948, is for sale in Geneva by Phillips on November 13, lot 196.
The 1518 in stainless steel are extremely rare : only four are known. This is not really surprising : we must indeed recognize some contradiction between the need for a perpetual calendar and the fear of wear.
The first two 1518 in stainless steel were manufactured in 1943 and sold together to a same customer in February of the next year. One of them remaining in an immaculate condition had probably been intended by him as a spare. It is for sale by Phillips in Geneva on November 12, lot 38. The press release of September 22 is announcing an estimate in excess of CHF 3M.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Stainless steel : SOLD for CHF 11M
Pink gold : SOLD for CHF 1.47M
1946-1950 Patek Philippe Reference 1415 in Platinum
2002 SOLD for CHF 6.6M (worth at that time US $ 4M) by Antiquorum
Patek Philippe began in 1937 to assemble World Time watches (Heures Universelles, HU) with the movement patented and supplied by Louis Cottier, without obtaining an exclusivity. A 24 hour disc rotates counter clockwise in synchronisation with the hands. A ring on the bezel refers to 28 locations, later extended to 42. The time everywhere around the world is read directly by the position of these inscriptions in front of the rotating disc.
After the ephemeral 96 HU and 515 HU references used by Patek Philippe in the development phase, the wristwatch model reference 1415 HU is released in 1939.
The overall production of the 1415 was 115 pieces. The only known example in platinum is embedded with a movement recorded in 1946 and completed in 1949-1950. The case was made by Wenger in 1949-1950 and the matte silver dial with applied platinum Arabic numerals by Stern Frères in the same date range.
It was sold by Antiquorum on April 13, 2002 for CHF 6.6M worth at that time US $ 4M, lot 608, and for HK $ 14.7M by Christie's on May 22, 2021, lot 2507.
After the ephemeral 96 HU and 515 HU references used by Patek Philippe in the development phase, the wristwatch model reference 1415 HU is released in 1939.
The overall production of the 1415 was 115 pieces. The only known example in platinum is embedded with a movement recorded in 1946 and completed in 1949-1950. The case was made by Wenger in 1949-1950 and the matte silver dial with applied platinum Arabic numerals by Stern Frères in the same date range.
It was sold by Antiquorum on April 13, 2002 for CHF 6.6M worth at that time US $ 4M, lot 608, and for HK $ 14.7M by Christie's on May 22, 2021, lot 2507.
Patek Philippe Reference 2523
Intro
Patek Philippe began in 1937 to assemble World Time watches (Heures Universelles, HU) with the movement patented and supplied by Louis Cottier, without obtaining an exclusivity. A ring marked from 0 to 23 rotates counter clockwise in synchronisation with the hands. Another ring identifies about 40 cities or places. The time everywhere around the world is read directly by the position of these inscriptions in front of the rotating ring.
After the ephemeral 96 HU and 515 HU references used by Patek Philippe in the development phase, the reference 1415 HU released in 1939 marks a stabilization of that offer. 115 pieces were made. A 1415 made in 1949 with the Eurasia cloisonné enamel dial (HU DE subvariant) was sold for CHF 970K by Phillips on May 13, 2018, lot 268.
In 1953 the reference 2523 replaces the 1415 after a modification of the Cottier calibre associated with a dual crown enabling to change the reference setting of the time zone. The 2523 is a luxury watch, most often equipped with an enamelled dial. The case embedding the double crown is a technical feat. Two batches were produced in two ranges of movement numbers for a possible high total of 5 + 20 watches or slightly more.
The 2523 is in turn replaced in 1957 by its variant 2523-1 with a simplification of the lugs and a metal dial. The production of HU movements ceases in 1965.
After the ephemeral 96 HU and 515 HU references used by Patek Philippe in the development phase, the reference 1415 HU released in 1939 marks a stabilization of that offer. 115 pieces were made. A 1415 made in 1949 with the Eurasia cloisonné enamel dial (HU DE subvariant) was sold for CHF 970K by Phillips on May 13, 2018, lot 268.
In 1953 the reference 2523 replaces the 1415 after a modification of the Cottier calibre associated with a dual crown enabling to change the reference setting of the time zone. The 2523 is a luxury watch, most often equipped with an enamelled dial. The case embedding the double crown is a technical feat. Two batches were produced in two ranges of movement numbers for a possible high total of 5 + 20 watches or slightly more.
The 2523 is in turn replaced in 1957 by its variant 2523-1 with a simplification of the lugs and a metal dial. The production of HU movements ceases in 1965.
1
1953 Eurasia in Yellow Gold
2021 SOLD for CHF 7M by Phillips
Only four 2523 are known from the first 1953 batch of movements. Three are fitted with an Eurasia cloisonné enamel dial and the fourth is a guilloché. The Eurasia design is a reuse from one of the dials of the 1415 in flat colors. The graduation of the enamel colors of the 2523 is arguably unprecedented.
The second 1953 batch was fitted with North America, South America, enamel blue and guilloché dials, with no Eurasia added.
One of the three Eurasia 2523s is a new discovery. It has the lowest case number in the whole 2523 reference and the lowest movement number associated with a 2523 Eurasia dial.
It was sold from CHF 7M by Phillips on May 8, 2021, lot 33. Please watch the video shared by Phillips where the features of this masterpiece are narrated in details by Aurel Bacs.
The second 1953 batch was fitted with North America, South America, enamel blue and guilloché dials, with no Eurasia added.
One of the three Eurasia 2523s is a new discovery. It has the lowest case number in the whole 2523 reference and the lowest movement number associated with a 2523 Eurasia dial.
It was sold from CHF 7M by Phillips on May 8, 2021, lot 33. Please watch the video shared by Phillips where the features of this masterpiece are narrated in details by Aurel Bacs.
2
1953-1954 Ocean Blue in Pink Gold
2019 SOLD for HK$ 70M by Christie's
A pink gold 2523 in excellent condition without any sign of repair surfaced in 2010. It was twice sold by Christie's, for CHF 2.7M on November 15, 2010, lot 114, and for HK$ 70M on November 23, 2019, lot 2201. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
The dial and movement were made in 1953 and the case in 1954. The centre of its dial is not in cloisonné but is monochrome in a beautifully translucent ocean blue enamel. The watch was sold to Gobbi in Milan in 1957. It is the only 2523 to have on its dial a double signature of Patek Philippe and a retailer, a feature that is today eagerly sought after by watch collectors. The movement is from the second 2523 batch.
The dial and movement were made in 1953 and the case in 1954. The centre of its dial is not in cloisonné but is monochrome in a beautifully translucent ocean blue enamel. The watch was sold to Gobbi in Milan in 1957. It is the only 2523 to have on its dial a double signature of Patek Philippe and a retailer, a feature that is today eagerly sought after by watch collectors. The movement is from the second 2523 batch.
1968 The Exotic Daytona
2017 SOLD for $ 17.8M including premium
Rolex launches in 1963 the Cosmograph Daytona reference 6239 for the use of drivers of endurance racing cars. The brand believes that other customers will be proud to own such a watch with high-end performance. Sales are disappointing. To revive the model in late 1966 Rolex offers more stylish dials with a choice in a range of pleasing colors and with better designed numerals. This model is referred as 'exotic'.
Paul Newman discovers the joys of car racing in 1968 when he plays with Joanne Woodward for the movie Winning which will be released in the following year. Joanne is his wife in this film and since 1958 in life. She is unfaithful in the film and madly in love in their privacy.
Joanne is worried about Paul's new passion for this dangerous sport. She offers him in 1968 a Daytona 6239 exotic on the back of which she has made inscribed the good advice "Drive Carefully Me".
Hyperactive and philanthropist, Paul is one of Hollywood's most popular personalities. Maniac in the accuracy of time, he is crazy about his 6239. Readers of magazines have fun to see Paul exhibiting regularly on his wrist this Rolex, recognizable from a distance by the simplicity of its design with the three sub-dials. Since the mid-1980s, exotic Daytonas have been nicknamed Paul Newman by the collectors without the intervention of the brand and without distinction of models (6239, 6241 and 6262 to 6265).
Paul is nice. One day when his daughter Nell's boyfriend forgot his watch, he gave him the 6239. Nell and James later separated without ceasing to cooperate closely. This eponymous watch to all the Daytona Paul Newman lineage is for sale by Phillips in association with Bacs and Russo on October 26 in New York, lot 8. Its consignor is James and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Nell Newman Foundation created by Nell in 2010 to continue the charitable work of her father.
This watch intensely used by Paul has never been modified or reworked. It joins the glamor of Hollywood with the beautiful story of the two generations of Newmans. Observers consider that its estimate at $ 1M will be exceeded.
It is the first of three watches of that next sale discussed by the auctioneer Aurel Bacs in the video shared by Hong Kong Tatler.
Paul Newman discovers the joys of car racing in 1968 when he plays with Joanne Woodward for the movie Winning which will be released in the following year. Joanne is his wife in this film and since 1958 in life. She is unfaithful in the film and madly in love in their privacy.
Joanne is worried about Paul's new passion for this dangerous sport. She offers him in 1968 a Daytona 6239 exotic on the back of which she has made inscribed the good advice "Drive Carefully Me".
Hyperactive and philanthropist, Paul is one of Hollywood's most popular personalities. Maniac in the accuracy of time, he is crazy about his 6239. Readers of magazines have fun to see Paul exhibiting regularly on his wrist this Rolex, recognizable from a distance by the simplicity of its design with the three sub-dials. Since the mid-1980s, exotic Daytonas have been nicknamed Paul Newman by the collectors without the intervention of the brand and without distinction of models (6239, 6241 and 6262 to 6265).
Paul is nice. One day when his daughter Nell's boyfriend forgot his watch, he gave him the 6239. Nell and James later separated without ceasing to cooperate closely. This eponymous watch to all the Daytona Paul Newman lineage is for sale by Phillips in association with Bacs and Russo on October 26 in New York, lot 8. Its consignor is James and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Nell Newman Foundation created by Nell in 2010 to continue the charitable work of her father.
This watch intensely used by Paul has never been modified or reworked. It joins the glamor of Hollywood with the beautiful story of the two generations of Newmans. Observers consider that its estimate at $ 1M will be exceeded.
It is the first of three watches of that next sale discussed by the auctioneer Aurel Bacs in the video shared by Hong Kong Tatler.
1989 White Gold Patek Philippe Calibre 89
2004 SOLD for CHF 6.6M by Antiquorum (worth US $ 5M at that time)
The best wristwatches are highly sophisticated masterpieces of miniaturization. Pocket watches, not limited by the size of the wrist, can do even better in terms of cumulated complications.
In 1989 Patek Philippe celebrates its 150th anniversary with the Calibre 89, which had required more nine years of design, manufacturing and assembly. According to the brand at that time, it is the "most complicated watch in the world": double open faced with a dial for solar time and a dial for sidereal time, 33 complications, 24 hands, 1,728 components. They fit in a case 89 mm in diameter and 41 mm thick weighing 1,100 grams.
The working prototype of the Calibre 89 was completed in July 1988 and the yellow gold specimen was released only nine month afterward. It was immediately offered in Geneva in a themed auction devoted to 'The Art of Patek Philippe' : that brand new watch fetched the equivalent of US$ 3.2M at Habsburg Feldman on April 9, 1989 which was at that time a world auction record for a watch.
Three other specimens followed, respectively in white gold, pink gold and platinum. On April 24, 2004, Antiquorum sold the white gold Calibre 89 for CHF 6.6M then worth $ 5M. That sale celebrated the 30th anniversary of the auction house, formerly Habsburg Feldman.
The Calibre 89 is now overcome in complexity by the unique specimen of Vacheron Constantin reference 57260, a unique pocket watch made in 2015 for a private customer.
In 1989 Patek Philippe celebrates its 150th anniversary with the Calibre 89, which had required more nine years of design, manufacturing and assembly. According to the brand at that time, it is the "most complicated watch in the world": double open faced with a dial for solar time and a dial for sidereal time, 33 complications, 24 hands, 1,728 components. They fit in a case 89 mm in diameter and 41 mm thick weighing 1,100 grams.
The working prototype of the Calibre 89 was completed in July 1988 and the yellow gold specimen was released only nine month afterward. It was immediately offered in Geneva in a themed auction devoted to 'The Art of Patek Philippe' : that brand new watch fetched the equivalent of US$ 3.2M at Habsburg Feldman on April 9, 1989 which was at that time a world auction record for a watch.
Three other specimens followed, respectively in white gold, pink gold and platinum. On April 24, 2004, Antiquorum sold the white gold Calibre 89 for CHF 6.6M then worth $ 5M. That sale celebrated the 30th anniversary of the auction house, formerly Habsburg Feldman.
The Calibre 89 is now overcome in complexity by the unique specimen of Vacheron Constantin reference 57260, a unique pocket watch made in 2015 for a private customer.
2019 Five Chimes on the Wrist
2019 SOLD for CHF 31M in charity sale without premium
In 2014, for celebrating the 175th anniversary of the brand, Patek Philippe release their first Grandmaster Chime wristwatch under the reference 5175 edited in seven units. Its 20 functions required 1,366 components for the movement and 215 components for the case, surpassing the 6200 Sky Moon Tourbillon. It is the achievement of 60,000 hours of development over seven years.
The 5175 is 48 mm in diameter and 16 mm in height with 11 pushers and buttons. Its central mechanism activates in parallel the visual reading on two dials including the perpetual calendar, the chimes of hours, quarters, minutes and day, and the acoustic alarm preselected with an accuracy of a quarter of an hour. The running time of the mechanical winding is 72 hours in silent mode and 30 hours in grande sonnerie.
Two of these applications are unprecedented : the insertion of an alarm in a wristwatch, and the audible indication of the day in the month in two digits covering 1 to 31 by the tens and units. The watch also strikes on demand the current hour and minute. A security prevents the user from operating two mechanisms at the same time if they are not compatible.
The reference 6300G in gray gold launched in 2016 is similar to the 5175 except that the references to the celebration have been removed.
The Only Watch charity sale is held every second year since 2005 for the benefit of the research on the Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The 2019 auction is managed by Christie's in Geneva on November 9.
According to the rules applicable to this operation, each manufacturer offers a watch for which it guarantees that it is and will remain a one-off. On this year Patek Philippe supplies the unique copy of Grandmaster Chime in stainless steel, reference 6300A-010, lot 28 estimated CHF 2.5M. The steel improves the sound. It is inscribed "The Only One" on one of the dials.
The lot includes a one-day private tour of the workshops and museum for two people and a lunch with Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe.
The 5175 is 48 mm in diameter and 16 mm in height with 11 pushers and buttons. Its central mechanism activates in parallel the visual reading on two dials including the perpetual calendar, the chimes of hours, quarters, minutes and day, and the acoustic alarm preselected with an accuracy of a quarter of an hour. The running time of the mechanical winding is 72 hours in silent mode and 30 hours in grande sonnerie.
Two of these applications are unprecedented : the insertion of an alarm in a wristwatch, and the audible indication of the day in the month in two digits covering 1 to 31 by the tens and units. The watch also strikes on demand the current hour and minute. A security prevents the user from operating two mechanisms at the same time if they are not compatible.
The reference 6300G in gray gold launched in 2016 is similar to the 5175 except that the references to the celebration have been removed.
The Only Watch charity sale is held every second year since 2005 for the benefit of the research on the Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The 2019 auction is managed by Christie's in Geneva on November 9.
According to the rules applicable to this operation, each manufacturer offers a watch for which it guarantees that it is and will remain a one-off. On this year Patek Philippe supplies the unique copy of Grandmaster Chime in stainless steel, reference 6300A-010, lot 28 estimated CHF 2.5M. The steel improves the sound. It is inscribed "The Only One" on one of the dials.
The lot includes a one-day private tour of the workshops and museum for two people and a lunch with Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe.
