PATEK PHILIPPE. A POSSIBLY UNIQUE 18K GOLD OPENFACE MINUTE REPEATING PERPETUAL CALENDAR SPLIT SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH KEYLESS LEVER WATCH WITH PHASES OF THE MOON, RETAILED BY TIFFANY & CO.

Highly attractive, the present watch effortlessly combines high complication with modern styling. Fresh to the market and in overall outstanding condition, to the best of our knowledge, it is the only ref. 849 known publicly.

This impressive triple complication represents the state-of-the-art watch manufacturing from the early and late 20th century, the heyday of complicated and ultra-complicated timepieces. In a heavy gold case, it unites the three main complications established at that time, the perpetual calendar, the split-seconds chronograph for timing purposes and the distinct minute repeating for the acoustic pleasure; the overall appeal of this ultra-rare timepiece is furthermore enhanced by the additional complication of the 30-minute recorder for the chronograph and its very appealing overall condition.

Tiffany & Co.
The celebrated house of Tiffany & Co., founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), opened his first store in New York in 1837. Ten years later, his catalogue incorporated French watches and clocks. Tiffany probably became acquainted with the quality watchmakers Antoine Patek and Adrien Philippe at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and three years later agreed to import Patek Philippe pocket watches into the US. In 1868, Tiffany started advertising its own dial names. By 1874 Tiffany had become a veritable Swiss watchmaker, producing timepieces by the lake in Geneva at 10 Grand Quai, today Patek Philippe's prestigious Salon on the renamed Rue du Rhône. In that same year, Charles Tiffany opened an ultra-modern factory on Place Cornavin and shortly after, his company was acknowledged as the leading watch and clock retailer in the US, alongside its substantial jewellery business.