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Lot Essay
Purchased at auction in April 2002 where it was offered with the engraved coat of arms of Henry Graves, Jr., the present ref. 605 HU has remained in the same Important Private Collection ever since.
According to the Extract from the Archives and our researches, it has come to life in 1944, destined for the North American market as indicated by the mention “HOX” on the movement and the English calendar version. Four years later, in February 1948, it was sold to Patek Philippe’s New York based retailer Tiffany & Co., one of the suppliers of fine timepieces of the celebrated collector Henry Graves, Jr.
Having spent nearly two decades safely locked away, this World Time Ref. 605 HU is preserved in very good overall condition.
Heure Universelle & Louis Cottier
The world time or “Heure Universelle” mechanism was invented in 1931 by the celebrated Geneva watchmaker Louis Cottier (1894-1966). The technology was incorporated into watches by several of Switzerland's leading watch firms, including Patek Philippe (ref. 605, 1415, 2523), Vacheron & Constantin (ref. 3372), Agassiz and Rolex (ref. 4262). Cottier further improved the system in 1953 with the ability to adjust the city disk via a secondary crown, this allowed Patek Philippe to eventually patent a system in 1958 where the hour hand could be moved without affecting the regular progression of the minute hand.
According to the Extract from the Archives and our researches, it has come to life in 1944, destined for the North American market as indicated by the mention “HOX” on the movement and the English calendar version. Four years later, in February 1948, it was sold to Patek Philippe’s New York based retailer Tiffany & Co., one of the suppliers of fine timepieces of the celebrated collector Henry Graves, Jr.
Having spent nearly two decades safely locked away, this World Time Ref. 605 HU is preserved in very good overall condition.
Heure Universelle & Louis Cottier
The world time or “Heure Universelle” mechanism was invented in 1931 by the celebrated Geneva watchmaker Louis Cottier (1894-1966). The technology was incorporated into watches by several of Switzerland's leading watch firms, including Patek Philippe (ref. 605, 1415, 2523), Vacheron & Constantin (ref. 3372), Agassiz and Rolex (ref. 4262). Cottier further improved the system in 1953 with the ability to adjust the city disk via a secondary crown, this allowed Patek Philippe to eventually patent a system in 1958 where the hour hand could be moved without affecting the regular progression of the minute hand.