Live Auction 1348Important Pocket Watches and Wristwatches
Patek Philippe. A very fine and rare 18K gold openface minute repeating perpetual calendar split seconds chronograph keyless lever watch with phases of the moon, extra quality movement and Guillaume-type balance
Lot 354 VARIOUS PROPERTIES

Patek Philippe. A very fine and rare 18K gold openface minute repeating perpetual calendar split seconds chronograph keyless lever watch with phases of the moon, extra quality movement and Guillaume-type balance

SIGNED PATEK PHILIPPE & CO., SWITZERLAND, MADE FOR TIFFANY & CO., NO. 174'705, MANUFACTURED IN 1916

Closed12 November 2007

Price Realised

CHF 157,000

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Patek Philippe. A very fine and rare 18K gold openface minute repeating perpetual calendar split seconds chronograph keyless lever watch with phases of the moon, extra quality movement and Guillaume-type balance
Signed Patek Philippe & Co., Switzerland, made for Tiffany & Co., No. 174'705, manufactured in 1916
Cal. 19''' nickel-finished Extra lever movement, 38 jewels, Guillaume-type balance with gold poising screws, micrometer regulator, wolf's tooth winding, repeating on two polished steel hammers, gold cuvette, the white enamel dial with Arabic numerals, outer Arabic five minute divisions, blued steel spade hands, four subsidiary dials indicating phases of the moon combined with lunar calendar, day, month and date combined with constant seconds, in heavy circular plain case with hidden hinges, repeating slide in the band, split seconds chronograph mechanism operated through the crown and through a button in the band, locked by a sliding lever in the band, case signed and numbered by maker, cuvette numbered, dial signed by retailer and numbered, movement signed and numbered by maker
54 mm. diam.

Specialist note

Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1916 and its subsequent sale on 7 November 1917.

This "triple complication" represents the state of the art in watch manufacturing from the heydays of complicated and ultra complicated timepieces. Uniting the three main complications established at that time, being the perpetual calendar for the astronomical functions, the split second chronograph for timing purposes and the distinct minute repeating for the acoustic pleasure, it is furthermore enhanced by the best degree movement available at Patek Philippe. The mechanism is crowned with a high precision balance, constructed on the principles of Dr. Charles Guillaume's invention and usually reserved for precision competitions at Observatories.

No. 174'705, retailed by the world famous Tiffany & Co., is testimony to an era when America's wealth could demand the only very best. Amongst Tiffany's clients of the period were famous families as the Astors, the Vanderbilts and the Morgans.