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Lot Essay
US$200,000-300,000
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with raised hour markers in gold in 1950 and its subsequent sale on 28 May 1951.
The present split seconds chronograph is a rare example of the celebrated reference 1436 blessed with the incredibly sought-after and charismatic black dial. Very few wristwatches incorporate such flamboyant dials, which are today regarded as the top-of-the-line in vintage watch collecting.
Whether in action to measure time intervals at a car race at Le Mans or a manned mission into orbit, the use of the split second chronograph fascinates today as much as when this reference was introduced in 1938. It was predominantly cased in either yellow or pink gold, no examples are known to date in white gold or platinum. The elegant reference 1436 and its high quality and complex movement certainly marked a peak in the evolution of technical wristwatches - an area in which Patek Philippe has been foremost for generations.
Until production of reference 1436 was discontinued in the early 1970s, it has seen two different constructions in regard to how the chronograph seconds hand would be split. On the first generation of this model made until the late 1940s, such as the present lot, the crown would serve as a button to split and reunite the two seconds hand. The second generation was fitted with a co-axial push button within the crown for the split seconds function.
The model is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 273, pl. 422 (first generation) and p. 274, pl. 423 (second generation).
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with raised hour markers in gold in 1950 and its subsequent sale on 28 May 1951.
The present split seconds chronograph is a rare example of the celebrated reference 1436 blessed with the incredibly sought-after and charismatic black dial. Very few wristwatches incorporate such flamboyant dials, which are today regarded as the top-of-the-line in vintage watch collecting.
Whether in action to measure time intervals at a car race at Le Mans or a manned mission into orbit, the use of the split second chronograph fascinates today as much as when this reference was introduced in 1938. It was predominantly cased in either yellow or pink gold, no examples are known to date in white gold or platinum. The elegant reference 1436 and its high quality and complex movement certainly marked a peak in the evolution of technical wristwatches - an area in which Patek Philippe has been foremost for generations.
Until production of reference 1436 was discontinued in the early 1970s, it has seen two different constructions in regard to how the chronograph seconds hand would be split. On the first generation of this model made until the late 1940s, such as the present lot, the crown would serve as a button to split and reunite the two seconds hand. The second generation was fitted with a co-axial push button within the crown for the split seconds function.
The model is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 273, pl. 422 (first generation) and p. 274, pl. 423 (second generation).