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Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present cushion-shaped watch with silvered dial, raised hour markers in gold and tachometer scale in 1936 and its subsequent sale on 12 December 1936.
The present single button chronograph is by all means an exceptional horological work of art, both for technical and esthetical reasons.
With its 11 lines movement it is the smallest known single button chronograph wristwatch of Patek Philippe's production, spanning over 170 years. It is a technically outstanding achievement of Patek Philippe's master watchmakers to have been able to reduce the already small 13 lines calibre to such extent.
It is not known if the present watch was a special order of one of Patek Philippe's most discerning clients for such an elegant and compact single button chronograph wristwatch or if Patek Philippe's management and chief of the workshop jointly decided to make this "one off" to display their skills and demonstrate the feasible.
Interestingly, this watch not only stands out from a technical standpoint but also plays in a different league with its platinum and yellow gold cushion-shaped case. In fact, in over thirty years of auctions no other Patek Philippe single button chronograph wristwatch has ever surfaced cased in such an exclusive combination of precious metals as the present watch. In fact, the result is a strikingly elegant colour combination, beautifully harmonizing with the dial design and not at all being of strange nature but actually a very smart and appealing design.
Since the launch of the production of chronograph wristwatches at Patek Philippe around 1924, different case shapes and dial designs have been used. The savvy collectors appreciate the early Officer cases with wire lugs but also the "tortue" shaped examples from the late 1920s. As of the early 1930s, the classic "Calatrava" shaped reference 130 design appealed to the purists.
Number 860'027 however, the present chronograph, is once again atypical for its time when it was completed and sold in 1936, a period when only round-shaped single button chronographs were in production. In fact, in-depth research reveals that no other cushion-shaped single button chronograph was conceived after the watch here. This constellation may once more lead to the conclusion that it was a special order.
Since its first public appearance at a Zurich auction in 1983, the watch's whereabouts have been very well documented. Interestingly, in 1983 its bezel was decorated with a surface finish which one could best describe as "bark-finish". Following the acquisition by its current owner in 1990, where it has been since, it has been brought back to its original specifications featuring a smooth bezel.
Locked away for two decades and prominently published in a landmark publication about Patek Philippe wristwatches, this masterpiece does not impress with its outer dimensions but inner and historical values. Its beauty and rarity will charm any serious connoisseur and provide for years to come emotional and intellectual satisfaction.
The present single button chronograph is by all means an exceptional horological work of art, both for technical and esthetical reasons.
With its 11 lines movement it is the smallest known single button chronograph wristwatch of Patek Philippe's production, spanning over 170 years. It is a technically outstanding achievement of Patek Philippe's master watchmakers to have been able to reduce the already small 13 lines calibre to such extent.
It is not known if the present watch was a special order of one of Patek Philippe's most discerning clients for such an elegant and compact single button chronograph wristwatch or if Patek Philippe's management and chief of the workshop jointly decided to make this "one off" to display their skills and demonstrate the feasible.
Interestingly, this watch not only stands out from a technical standpoint but also plays in a different league with its platinum and yellow gold cushion-shaped case. In fact, in over thirty years of auctions no other Patek Philippe single button chronograph wristwatch has ever surfaced cased in such an exclusive combination of precious metals as the present watch. In fact, the result is a strikingly elegant colour combination, beautifully harmonizing with the dial design and not at all being of strange nature but actually a very smart and appealing design.
Since the launch of the production of chronograph wristwatches at Patek Philippe around 1924, different case shapes and dial designs have been used. The savvy collectors appreciate the early Officer cases with wire lugs but also the "tortue" shaped examples from the late 1920s. As of the early 1930s, the classic "Calatrava" shaped reference 130 design appealed to the purists.
Number 860'027 however, the present chronograph, is once again atypical for its time when it was completed and sold in 1936, a period when only round-shaped single button chronographs were in production. In fact, in-depth research reveals that no other cushion-shaped single button chronograph was conceived after the watch here. This constellation may once more lead to the conclusion that it was a special order.
Since its first public appearance at a Zurich auction in 1983, the watch's whereabouts have been very well documented. Interestingly, in 1983 its bezel was decorated with a surface finish which one could best describe as "bark-finish". Following the acquisition by its current owner in 1990, where it has been since, it has been brought back to its original specifications featuring a smooth bezel.
Locked away for two decades and prominently published in a landmark publication about Patek Philippe wristwatches, this masterpiece does not impress with its outer dimensions but inner and historical values. Its beauty and rarity will charm any serious connoisseur and provide for years to come emotional and intellectual satisfaction.