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Lot Essay
The appearance of an almost certainly unique, specially commissioned Patek Philippe watch at auction is, even today, a landmark event. This sensational pocket watch was evidently made as a special order for the Khedive of Egypt. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only example of its kind with quarter repeating and dual time indications with Turkish hour indications. This timpiece is consigned by a notable private collector, whose interests have been devoted to the pursuit of rare and finely executed complicated pocket watches.
Manufactured in 1874, during what was an extremely important period in Patek Philippe’s history when their reputation as the maker of the finest, most complicated, functional and attractive watches in the world was becoming firmly established, the present timepiece exemplifies the company’s embrace and adoption of technical innovation to fulfil their clients' wishes. The back cover is engraved with the mirror-image monogram of Khedive Isma’il Pasha who ruled Egypt between 1863 and 1879. It then descended to Prince Mohammed Tewfik A. Toussoun of Egypt (1925–2021) who was a connoisseur and collector, and first cousin of King Farouk I. Famously, Prince Mohammed Tewfik A. Toussoun’s Patek Philippe wristwatch, a pink-on-pink reference 1518, sold for a then world record price in 2021.
At the time of its manufacture in 1874, a dual time watch would have been regarded as absolutely state-of-the-art in being designed to display the time in two different places. With increased mobility in the later 19th century, travellers were confronted with the dilemma that each region had its own local time. Sandford Fleming (1827-1915) solved this problem. In 1876, the Canadian railway engineer recommended a universal time system in which the globe was divided into 24 time zones. However, it was not until 1884 that international zones were officially implemented with ‘Greenwich Meantime’ as ‘time zero’.
The specially designed two-part white enamel dial, confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, has an outer chapter ring with Ottoman Turkish alphabet indexes, the inner dial has Turkish numerals, and its hands can be manually rotated via a wheel protruding through the cuvette to adjust to another time zone. Each dial has its own pair of corresponding hour and minute hands of differing design. For indicating the time to the nearest quarter hour during nighttime hours, the movement has quarter repeating activated by the slide in the band of the case.
This remarkable Patek Philippe dual hours watch offers collectors and connoisseurs a unique opportunity to make an exceptional addition to their collection. Exemplary on every level, this important top-flight timepiece perfectly illustrates Patek Philippe’s long history at the forefront of innovation in horology.
Manufactured in 1874, during what was an extremely important period in Patek Philippe’s history when their reputation as the maker of the finest, most complicated, functional and attractive watches in the world was becoming firmly established, the present timepiece exemplifies the company’s embrace and adoption of technical innovation to fulfil their clients' wishes. The back cover is engraved with the mirror-image monogram of Khedive Isma’il Pasha who ruled Egypt between 1863 and 1879. It then descended to Prince Mohammed Tewfik A. Toussoun of Egypt (1925–2021) who was a connoisseur and collector, and first cousin of King Farouk I. Famously, Prince Mohammed Tewfik A. Toussoun’s Patek Philippe wristwatch, a pink-on-pink reference 1518, sold for a then world record price in 2021.
At the time of its manufacture in 1874, a dual time watch would have been regarded as absolutely state-of-the-art in being designed to display the time in two different places. With increased mobility in the later 19th century, travellers were confronted with the dilemma that each region had its own local time. Sandford Fleming (1827-1915) solved this problem. In 1876, the Canadian railway engineer recommended a universal time system in which the globe was divided into 24 time zones. However, it was not until 1884 that international zones were officially implemented with ‘Greenwich Meantime’ as ‘time zero’.
The specially designed two-part white enamel dial, confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, has an outer chapter ring with Ottoman Turkish alphabet indexes, the inner dial has Turkish numerals, and its hands can be manually rotated via a wheel protruding through the cuvette to adjust to another time zone. Each dial has its own pair of corresponding hour and minute hands of differing design. For indicating the time to the nearest quarter hour during nighttime hours, the movement has quarter repeating activated by the slide in the band of the case.
This remarkable Patek Philippe dual hours watch offers collectors and connoisseurs a unique opportunity to make an exceptional addition to their collection. Exemplary on every level, this important top-flight timepiece perfectly illustrates Patek Philippe’s long history at the forefront of innovation in horology.