Time Pieces
See also : Clocks French time pieces Silverware Patek Philippe Development of Patek Philippe Patek Philippe 1945-1980 Rolex New watches Switzerland < 1940 Louis XVIII to 2nd Empire
Chronology : 1830-1839 1933 1939 1953 1968 2010 to now
Chronology : 1830-1839 1933 1939 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.
1939 Platinum Patek Philippe 1415 HU World Time
2002 SOLD for CHF 6.6M (worth at that time US $ 4M) including premium by Antiquorum
narrated in 2020 before the sale of another watch by Phillips (see below)
In the mid-1930s Louis Cottier invented a new horological complication for wristwatches, the Heures Universelles. The watch is equipped with two rotating rings. The user sets his position to the local time displayed by the central hands. The time in all cities of the world is a direct reading of the junction between the two rings.
Patek Philippe, which had delivered their Supercomplication watch to Graves in 1933, are eager for any invention. Their first integration tests of the Heures Universelles (HU) are carried out in 1937 with the support of the inventor.
These early units are experimental. They re-use old movements, perhaps chosen from their availability in the warehouse. The 96 HU is known in two units and the 515 HU in three units. Both 96 HU Calatrava and at least one of the rectangular 515 HU are assembled with cases in the same range of serial numbers. Both types refer to 28 cities.
The 96 HU has long been considered as a unique piece. It was sold for CHF 410K including premium by Christie's on November 14, 2011. The second watch surfaced in 2011. Unrestored, it was sold as is by Sotheby's on December 6, 2011 for $ 480K including premium and for CHF 390K including premium by Phillips on June 27, 2020.
The rotation of the city ring was not compatible with the 515 but Patek Philippe did not give up. The 542 HU, assembled in five units, is the last model of prototypes before the marketing begins in 1939 under the references 1416 HU and 1415 HU. A 1415 HU was sold by Antiquorum on April 13, 2002 for CHF 6.6M including premium, worth $ 4M on that date. It is the only known example in platinum for that reference.
Patek Philippe, which had delivered their Supercomplication watch to Graves in 1933, are eager for any invention. Their first integration tests of the Heures Universelles (HU) are carried out in 1937 with the support of the inventor.
These early units are experimental. They re-use old movements, perhaps chosen from their availability in the warehouse. The 96 HU is known in two units and the 515 HU in three units. Both 96 HU Calatrava and at least one of the rectangular 515 HU are assembled with cases in the same range of serial numbers. Both types refer to 28 cities.
The 96 HU has long been considered as a unique piece. It was sold for CHF 410K including premium by Christie's on November 14, 2011. The second watch surfaced in 2011. Unrestored, it was sold as is by Sotheby's on December 6, 2011 for $ 480K including premium and for CHF 390K including premium by Phillips on June 27, 2020.
The rotation of the city ring was not compatible with the 515 but Patek Philippe did not give up. The 542 HU, assembled in five units, is the last model of prototypes before the marketing begins in 1939 under the references 1416 HU and 1415 HU. A 1415 HU was sold by Antiquorum on April 13, 2002 for CHF 6.6M including premium, worth $ 4M on that date. It is the only known example in platinum for that reference.
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
1943 Continuous Improvement at Patek Philippe
2010 SOLD 6.25 MCHF including premium
The market for luxury wristwatch is characterized by the overwhelming dominance of Patek Philippe. This is due to the care taken to improve the models, the miniaturization of movements, but also the aesthetic awareness.
The model 2499, introduced in 1951, is a star of the sales of watches, and it would be tedious to report all its millionaire results. Before it, for ten years, the flagship of the luxury line was the 1518, which I have not yet discussed in this column.
This is neither the one nor the other but a 1527 that is estimated 1.5 MCHF by Christie's, for sale in Geneva on May 10. Fitted with chronograph, perpetual calendar and moon phases, this watch has the features of the best models of its time, 1943, but its barrel ("tonneau") shape made it a precursor to future refinements.
1527 was manufactured in two copies only. So it is a kind of prototype or custom order carefully kept in mind by the designers of the firm in Geneva waiting for better post war times.
It was unknown to the experts before the sudden appearance of the copy of Christie's on the market 20 years ago. The other copy, simpler (no chronograph), was a surprise six years ago when the son of a former owner of Patek Philippe gave it to the museum of the brand.
POST SALE COMMENT
I warned it more than once: 2010 is a great year to be attentive to exceptional lots. This unique Patek Philippe is an important link in the history of the brand, and in the history of wristwatches as a whole.
The price obtained is as fabulous as the piece: 6.25 MCHF including premium.
Christie's was able to convince the rather closed circle of the collectors of top watches. I say "closed circle", because I had not seen any newspaper article on this lot. The auction house is proud of the result: they posted on Twitter without waiting for completion of the sale (which is also not yet finished at the time of my comment).
The image of this watch is shared post sale by La Tribune de Genève.
The model 2499, introduced in 1951, is a star of the sales of watches, and it would be tedious to report all its millionaire results. Before it, for ten years, the flagship of the luxury line was the 1518, which I have not yet discussed in this column.
This is neither the one nor the other but a 1527 that is estimated 1.5 MCHF by Christie's, for sale in Geneva on May 10. Fitted with chronograph, perpetual calendar and moon phases, this watch has the features of the best models of its time, 1943, but its barrel ("tonneau") shape made it a precursor to future refinements.
1527 was manufactured in two copies only. So it is a kind of prototype or custom order carefully kept in mind by the designers of the firm in Geneva waiting for better post war times.
It was unknown to the experts before the sudden appearance of the copy of Christie's on the market 20 years ago. The other copy, simpler (no chronograph), was a surprise six years ago when the son of a former owner of Patek Philippe gave it to the museum of the brand.
POST SALE COMMENT
I warned it more than once: 2010 is a great year to be attentive to exceptional lots. This unique Patek Philippe is an important link in the history of the brand, and in the history of wristwatches as a whole.
The price obtained is as fabulous as the piece: 6.25 MCHF including premium.
Christie's was able to convince the rather closed circle of the collectors of top watches. I say "closed circle", because I had not seen any newspaper article on this lot. The auction house is proud of the result: they posted on Twitter without waiting for completion of the sale (which is also not yet finished at the time of my comment).
The image of this watch is shared post sale by La Tribune de Genève.
1953-1957 Hours for the Use of Milan
2019 SOLD for HK$ 70M including premium
Patek Philippe began in 1937 to assemble World Time watches (Heures Universelles, HU) with the movement patented and supplied by Louis Cottier. 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.
In 1953 the reference 2523 replaces the 1415 after a modification of the Cottier calibre enabling to change the reference setting of the time zone. The 2523 is a luxury watch, most often equipped with an enamelled dial. 26 units were produced. The most usual dial of this model is a cloisonné enamel showing the map of a continent. A North America was sold for CHF 2.8M including premium by Christie's on May 14, 2012.
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. A pink gold 2523-1 was sold for HK $ 19.5M including premium by Phillips on May 31, 2016.
A pink gold 2523 in excellent condition without any sign of repair surfaced in 2010. It was sold for CHF 2.7M including premium by Christie's on November 15, 2010, lot 114. I discussed it in this column before that sale. 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. It is estimated HK $ 55M for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 23, lot 2201. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
In 1953 the reference 2523 replaces the 1415 after a modification of the Cottier calibre enabling to change the reference setting of the time zone. The 2523 is a luxury watch, most often equipped with an enamelled dial. 26 units were produced. The most usual dial of this model is a cloisonné enamel showing the map of a continent. A North America was sold for CHF 2.8M including premium by Christie's on May 14, 2012.
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. A pink gold 2523-1 was sold for HK $ 19.5M including premium by Phillips on May 31, 2016.
A pink gold 2523 in excellent condition without any sign of repair surfaced in 2010. It was sold for CHF 2.7M including premium by Christie's on November 15, 2010, lot 114. I discussed it in this column before that sale. 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. It is estimated HK $ 55M for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 23, lot 2201. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
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.
2017 Titanium and Triple Complication
2017 SOLD for CHF 6.2M in charity sale without premium
Organized every two years by the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, the OnlyWatch charity sale requires the offer by each participating brand of a watch guaranteed as unique of its kind. The 2017 event is entrusted to Christie's in Geneva on November 11.
Patek Philippe responds most often with a high-end model in a refractory metal unusual in its similar productions : titanium in 2007 and 2013, steel in 2011 and 2015. The Patek Philippe 5016A-010 sold by Phillips on November 7, 2015 fetched CHF 7.3M.
The titanium comes again in 2017 with the unique Patek Philippe 5208T-010, lot 12 estimated CHF 900K.
Released in 2011 with a platinum 5208P version, the 5208 is a triple complication watch : minute repeater, mono-pusher chronograph and perpetual calendar with apertures and phases of the moon taking into account the leap year. It is resistant to moisture and dust but not to water. Its removable back case can be replaced by a transparent back in sapphire crystal providing visibility onto the inside. It is assembled with more than 700 parts.
In the ever-improving range of the Patek Philippe complication watches, the 5208 is the first wristwatch whose triple complication includes a chronograph, unlike the 5207 released in 2008 with a tourbillon.
Patek Philippe responds most often with a high-end model in a refractory metal unusual in its similar productions : titanium in 2007 and 2013, steel in 2011 and 2015. The Patek Philippe 5016A-010 sold by Phillips on November 7, 2015 fetched CHF 7.3M.
The titanium comes again in 2017 with the unique Patek Philippe 5208T-010, lot 12 estimated CHF 900K.
Released in 2011 with a platinum 5208P version, the 5208 is a triple complication watch : minute repeater, mono-pusher chronograph and perpetual calendar with apertures and phases of the moon taking into account the leap year. It is resistant to moisture and dust but not to water. Its removable back case can be replaced by a transparent back in sapphire crystal providing visibility onto the inside. It is assembled with more than 700 parts.
In the ever-improving range of the Patek Philippe complication watches, the 5208 is the first wristwatch whose triple complication includes a chronograph, unlike the 5207 released in 2008 with a tourbillon.
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.
