MOVEMENT NO. 97'261, CASE NO. 218'113, MANUFACTURED IN 1893

Patek Philippe made only a very few split-seconds chronograph watches with a subsidiary flying quarter-second diablotine, sometimes known as ‘secondes foudroyante’. Although several watchmakers in the late 19th century were developing chronographs with diablotine, it was Adrien Philippe who came up with one of the most effective versions of the complication. This rare and difficult to execute mechanism refers to the bottom subsidiary dial which jumps forward every quarter of a second when the chronograph is in motion. Subsequently, when the chronograph is stopped, the diablotine halts, thus allowing the viewer to accurately measure the time to a fraction of a second. This type of watch was used to time sporting events. The jumping seconds could indicate either 1⁄4 seconds as in the present timepiece, or 1⁄5 seconds which was the standards of precision for timing sporting events at that period.

A great rarity, the present timepiece is a superb and wonderfully crisp example and furthermore retains the original Patek Philippe box and Certificate of Origin. The white enamel dial is particularly beautiful and aesthetically pleasing with Breguet numerals.