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Lot Essay
This fascinating and very personal watch was completed by Joseph Émile Philippe, known to the family as Émile, during his time studying at the Ecole d’Horlogerie in Geneva. Descending in the family until the present day, it is offered here at auction for the first time.
It was entirely natural as the son of the great watchmaker Jean-Adrien Philippe that Joseph Émile would follow in his father’s footsteps. Indeed, when his father stepped down from running Patek Philippe in 1891, Joseph Émile replaced him in that position.
The present watch is an Ecole d’Horlogerie watch completed by Émile presumably in 1889, the year that the cuvette is dated and engraved with his signature. Unsurprisingly, the similarity to a Patek Philippe movement is immediately obvious, the layout, bridges and wolf’s tooth winding wheels being almost identical, indeed the ébauche might well have come from the manufacture. The counterpoised fully jewelled lever escapement has a fine bimetallic compensation balance wheel with gold meantime and temperature adjustment screws, blued steel balance spring with terminal curve. The silver case is unusually ornate for an Ecole d’Horlogerie watch being entirely nielloed and set with a gold monogram, the decoration resembling stylised Calatrava crosses.
The Patek Philippe manufacture itself only produced a handful of watches with nielloed cases and it was therefore an unusual and bold choice for Joseph Émile to case his watch in this way. It illustrates the pride and excellence of finishing that would have been expected from a member of the Philippe family.
It is extremely rare that an important object in the history of Patek Philippe and a watch with a close personal connection with the Philippe family is offered at auction. The present watch with both movement and case signed by Émile Philippe represents a unique opportunity for the collector to acquire a true piece of watchmaking history.
It was entirely natural as the son of the great watchmaker Jean-Adrien Philippe that Joseph Émile would follow in his father’s footsteps. Indeed, when his father stepped down from running Patek Philippe in 1891, Joseph Émile replaced him in that position.
The present watch is an Ecole d’Horlogerie watch completed by Émile presumably in 1889, the year that the cuvette is dated and engraved with his signature. Unsurprisingly, the similarity to a Patek Philippe movement is immediately obvious, the layout, bridges and wolf’s tooth winding wheels being almost identical, indeed the ébauche might well have come from the manufacture. The counterpoised fully jewelled lever escapement has a fine bimetallic compensation balance wheel with gold meantime and temperature adjustment screws, blued steel balance spring with terminal curve. The silver case is unusually ornate for an Ecole d’Horlogerie watch being entirely nielloed and set with a gold monogram, the decoration resembling stylised Calatrava crosses.
The Patek Philippe manufacture itself only produced a handful of watches with nielloed cases and it was therefore an unusual and bold choice for Joseph Émile to case his watch in this way. It illustrates the pride and excellence of finishing that would have been expected from a member of the Philippe family.
It is extremely rare that an important object in the history of Patek Philippe and a watch with a close personal connection with the Philippe family is offered at auction. The present watch with both movement and case signed by Émile Philippe represents a unique opportunity for the collector to acquire a true piece of watchmaking history.