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Lot Essay
One of the rarest Patek Philippe modern production complicated wristwatches, the 5160G is a perpetual calendar with retrograde or ‘flyback’ date and moon phases. The dial with applied Breguet numerals is unique to the white gold version, its design allows the display of several complications in an extremely elegant and easily readable way. In the upper half of the dial is the retrograde date scale numbered 1-31, when the hand reaches the last date of the month the hand instantly ‘flies’ back to the beginning. Apertures for the days of the week at 9 o’clock and months at 3 o’clock are centred by the leap-year indication below 12 o’clock. Placed in the lower half of the dial is the aperture for the moon phases.
The story of the reference 5160 is interesting because its design was inspired by a special order piece of its ‘sister’ reference 5159 that was launched in 2007 with the new Officier-style case. For reference 5159, the ancient and revered art of engraving was used to decorate the dial. A special order watch was subsequently granted to an important client for a reference 5159 with an artisanal engraved case, that watch was sold by Christie's Shanghai on 26 September 2013, lot 16. Patek Philippe was reportedly so delighted by the beauty and impact of this special order piece, that they decided to release an entirely new reference based upon it - reference 5160. Introduced in 2010 in white, yellow or pink gold, it is thought that no more of two or three dozen pieces will ever be made for each.
The 38 mm. diameter Officier-style case is a tribute to the master artisans of Patek Philippe’s rare handcrafts division. The centre of the dial, the white-gold case, the hinged cover, and the clasp are lavishly decorated with entirely hand-executed engravings inspired by a pocket watch in the Patek Philippe Museum collection made for the American industrialist James Ward Packard. It is interesting to note that, in the case of white gold 5160 but not in the case of yellow gold examples, the grooves of the engraving are highlighted with blackened silver powder in order to enhance the design. This subtle effect demonstrates the amazing attention to detail in every stage of Patek Philippe’s manufacturing process.
The story of the reference 5160 is interesting because its design was inspired by a special order piece of its ‘sister’ reference 5159 that was launched in 2007 with the new Officier-style case. For reference 5159, the ancient and revered art of engraving was used to decorate the dial. A special order watch was subsequently granted to an important client for a reference 5159 with an artisanal engraved case, that watch was sold by Christie's Shanghai on 26 September 2013, lot 16. Patek Philippe was reportedly so delighted by the beauty and impact of this special order piece, that they decided to release an entirely new reference based upon it - reference 5160. Introduced in 2010 in white, yellow or pink gold, it is thought that no more of two or three dozen pieces will ever be made for each.
The 38 mm. diameter Officier-style case is a tribute to the master artisans of Patek Philippe’s rare handcrafts division. The centre of the dial, the white-gold case, the hinged cover, and the clasp are lavishly decorated with entirely hand-executed engravings inspired by a pocket watch in the Patek Philippe Museum collection made for the American industrialist James Ward Packard. It is interesting to note that, in the case of white gold 5160 but not in the case of yellow gold examples, the grooves of the engraving are highlighted with blackened silver powder in order to enhance the design. This subtle effect demonstrates the amazing attention to detail in every stage of Patek Philippe’s manufacturing process.