.jpg?maxwidth=3840)
Lot 2481 THE PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION
PATEK PHILIPPE. A VERY FINE AND RARE PLATINUM RECTANGULAR TOURBILLON WRISTWATCH WITH 10 DAY POWER RESERVE
SIGNED PATEK PHILIPPE, GENEVE, REF. 5101, MOVEMENT NO. 5'250'125, CASE NO. 4'471'316, CIRCA 2011
Closed26 November 2018
Price Realised
HKD 1,125,000
More Information
Specialist note
It takes much more than a cursory glance to realise that reference 5101 is a highly complicated wristwatch. In fact it is the first timepiece that combines two complications which are very difficult to accommodate in the confined space of a rectangular movement: two tandem mainspring barrels with 240 hours power reserve and a tourbillon precision regulator composed of 72 individual parts.
As is characteristic of Patek Philippe, hardly any signs on the outside of the piece reveal the complexity of its inner workings. Understated elegance has always been a hallmark of Patek Philippe but the tourbillon cage is in fact concealed for a very practical reason - the oil used to lubricate the mechanism is sensitive to ultraviolet rays and will decompose when exposed to daylight, thus losing its beneficial tribological properties. Extremely stringent standards are imposed on all Patek Philippe movements and even more so on tourbillon pieces.
As is characteristic of Patek Philippe, hardly any signs on the outside of the piece reveal the complexity of its inner workings. Understated elegance has always been a hallmark of Patek Philippe but the tourbillon cage is in fact concealed for a very practical reason - the oil used to lubricate the mechanism is sensitive to ultraviolet rays and will decompose when exposed to daylight, thus losing its beneficial tribological properties. Extremely stringent standards are imposed on all Patek Philippe movements and even more so on tourbillon pieces.