Patek Philippe. A very rare and attractive 18K pink gold openface chronograph keyless lever watch with pink dial

With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with silvered dial, raised gold hour markers and tachometer scale in 1940 and its subsequent sale on 6 June 1941.

Fresh to the market and consigned by a European lady, it has obviously hardly been used and is preserved in very good overall condition. Although originally delivered with a silvered dial, the present pink dial has certainly been added shortly after the sale by special request of the first owner.

Reference 658 was introduced to the market in the late 1930s and made in a very small series only. According to research, only four examples of this reference in pink gold have appeared in public to date. The present reference 658 is however the only one featuring a pink dial and the retailer's signature Hausmann & Cie.

Hausmann & Cie., one of Patek Philippe's most prominent retailers in Italy, was founded in Rome in 1794 by Ernst Hausmann, a young German clockmaker and his friend and partner Hermann Frielingsdorf. The firm is still residing in the same premises in Rome's historical centre and represents the world's most prestigious watch and clock manufacturers.