Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with 30 minute counter, silvered dial, Breguet numerals and small second hand in 1924 and its subsequent sale on 18 June 1926.
The single button chronograph offered here for sale is one of the finest and earliest examples of Patek Philippe's early production of complex and complicated wristwatches. According to literature (Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 81), Patek Philippe manufactured their first chronograph wristwatch in 1926 which was sold on 20 January 1927 for the, at that time, impressive amount of Fr. 2,135. The present watch however was already started in 1924 and sold in June 1926, at a time when the allegedly first chronograph wristwatch by Patek Philippe was still in production.
The rarity and exclusivity of this watch is furthermore underlined by the fact that since production of single button chronographs ceased in the late 1930s, Patek Philippe has never resumed production. Moreover, research shows that only six other examples of such early Officer-style cased single button chronographs are known to have survived, the majority of them being either in private Museums or in the world's most distinguished private collections.
In fact, the charismatically aged silvered dial and the much sought after Breguet numerals, confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, are a superb feature on this master piece of 1920s watch making. This historical chronograph shows all, for the period typical, further elements such as lack of an outer telemetre, tachymetre or pulsometre scale, small vertically placed subsidiary dials and the position of Patek Philippe's signature, reaching horizontally from one side to the other. Many of these style elements are still upheld in greatest respect today, reflected in the latest state-of-the-art production of Patek Philippe, most notably reference 5959, the ultra limited split seconds chronograph wristwatch with Breguet numeral dial and Officer case.
The ébauche for this unusual watch was commissioned by Patek Philippe and made by Victorin Piguet & Co. of Le Sentier. During the 1920s the company made most of the ébauches for complicated movements, including single button and split seconds chronographs, repeaters and perpetual calendars, exclusively for prestigious firms like Patek Philippe.
The combination of the superb provenance, very well and most originally preserved case and the highly attractive dial render this watch a rare and early timepiece of considerable interest for any discerning collector.
Similar examples of early single button chronograph wristwatches are described and illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, pp. 258 & 259.
The single button chronograph offered here for sale is one of the finest and earliest examples of Patek Philippe's early production of complex and complicated wristwatches. According to literature (Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 81), Patek Philippe manufactured their first chronograph wristwatch in 1926 which was sold on 20 January 1927 for the, at that time, impressive amount of Fr. 2,135. The present watch however was already started in 1924 and sold in June 1926, at a time when the allegedly first chronograph wristwatch by Patek Philippe was still in production.
The rarity and exclusivity of this watch is furthermore underlined by the fact that since production of single button chronographs ceased in the late 1930s, Patek Philippe has never resumed production. Moreover, research shows that only six other examples of such early Officer-style cased single button chronographs are known to have survived, the majority of them being either in private Museums or in the world's most distinguished private collections.
In fact, the charismatically aged silvered dial and the much sought after Breguet numerals, confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, are a superb feature on this master piece of 1920s watch making. This historical chronograph shows all, for the period typical, further elements such as lack of an outer telemetre, tachymetre or pulsometre scale, small vertically placed subsidiary dials and the position of Patek Philippe's signature, reaching horizontally from one side to the other. Many of these style elements are still upheld in greatest respect today, reflected in the latest state-of-the-art production of Patek Philippe, most notably reference 5959, the ultra limited split seconds chronograph wristwatch with Breguet numeral dial and Officer case.
The ébauche for this unusual watch was commissioned by Patek Philippe and made by Victorin Piguet & Co. of Le Sentier. During the 1920s the company made most of the ébauches for complicated movements, including single button and split seconds chronographs, repeaters and perpetual calendars, exclusively for prestigious firms like Patek Philippe.
The combination of the superb provenance, very well and most originally preserved case and the highly attractive dial render this watch a rare and early timepiece of considerable interest for any discerning collector.
Similar examples of early single button chronograph wristwatches are described and illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, pp. 258 & 259.