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Lot Essay
Accompanied by an Extract from the Patek Philippe Archives confirming the date of manufacture as 1966 and its subsequent sale on March 8th of the same year.
According to our research, the present watch has never before appeared at auction.
Patek Philippe introduced the reference 3448 to the market in 1962. This model represents the first self-winding perpetual calendar wristwatch ever to be produced. According to literature, a total of only 586 examples were made, the majority in yellow gold cases. Few watches were cased in pink or white gold and only two examples in platinum are known to date.
The reference 3448 was fitted with the celebrated caliber 27-460, amongst the most sophisticated and lavish automatic movements ever made. It was later upgraded with Patek Philippe's patented perpetual calendar mechanism fitted on the movement plate underneath the dial and renamed 27-460Q.
In 1981 the reference 3450 was debuted with the improved 27-460 QB (Quantieme Bissextile) caliber. The model differs from its predecessor with the addition of the leap year indication in the eccentric small round aperture at four o'clock. The first series was made with a red disc and Arabic numerals and the second series with the Roman I, II, III and IIII leap year indication. A total of 244 examples of the reference 3450 were produced, the majority in yellow gold cases with only two white gold examples known at present.
Production of both the references 3448 and 3450 was discontinued in 1985 when Patek Philippe launched the reference 3940.
The present watch features the first, earlier type of dial for the reference 3448 with silvered gold dial, applied gold baton numerals and indelible black enamel minute ring. Furthermore, the addition of the retailers name on the dial, the famed New York firm of Tiffany & Co., adds another level of interest. The long-standing and continuing collaboration between Tiffany and Patek Philippe began in 1851 under the guidance of the companies' owners, Charles Louis Tiffany and Antoine Norbert de Patek. In 1854 Tiffany & Co. began introducing Patek Philippe watches to the American market, including some of the rarest models.
For a similar example of the reference 3448 see Hubery & Banbery, Patek Philippe Wristwatches, Volume 2, Second Edition, p. 288; and in Barracca, Negretti and Nencini, Ore d'Oro, p. 45.
According to our research, the present watch has never before appeared at auction.
Patek Philippe introduced the reference 3448 to the market in 1962. This model represents the first self-winding perpetual calendar wristwatch ever to be produced. According to literature, a total of only 586 examples were made, the majority in yellow gold cases. Few watches were cased in pink or white gold and only two examples in platinum are known to date.
The reference 3448 was fitted with the celebrated caliber 27-460, amongst the most sophisticated and lavish automatic movements ever made. It was later upgraded with Patek Philippe's patented perpetual calendar mechanism fitted on the movement plate underneath the dial and renamed 27-460Q.
In 1981 the reference 3450 was debuted with the improved 27-460 QB (Quantieme Bissextile) caliber. The model differs from its predecessor with the addition of the leap year indication in the eccentric small round aperture at four o'clock. The first series was made with a red disc and Arabic numerals and the second series with the Roman I, II, III and IIII leap year indication. A total of 244 examples of the reference 3450 were produced, the majority in yellow gold cases with only two white gold examples known at present.
Production of both the references 3448 and 3450 was discontinued in 1985 when Patek Philippe launched the reference 3940.
The present watch features the first, earlier type of dial for the reference 3448 with silvered gold dial, applied gold baton numerals and indelible black enamel minute ring. Furthermore, the addition of the retailers name on the dial, the famed New York firm of Tiffany & Co., adds another level of interest. The long-standing and continuing collaboration between Tiffany and Patek Philippe began in 1851 under the guidance of the companies' owners, Charles Louis Tiffany and Antoine Norbert de Patek. In 1854 Tiffany & Co. began introducing Patek Philippe watches to the American market, including some of the rarest models.
For a similar example of the reference 3448 see Hubery & Banbery, Patek Philippe Wristwatches, Volume 2, Second Edition, p. 288; and in Barracca, Negretti and Nencini, Ore d'Oro, p. 45.