.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Accompanied by a Patek Philippe Certificate of Origin dated November 1, 2008, Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres certificate dated September 20, 2007, wooden presentation box, leather portfolio with glossy image of the watch, product literature and outer packaging.
To the best of our knowledge this watch has never before been offered in public.
It takes much more than a cursory glance at Patek Philippe's debut showpiece from Basel 2003 to realise that the reference 5101P is a highly complicated wristwatch. In fact it is the first timepiece combining two complications which are very difficult to accommodate in the confined space of a rectangular movement: two tandem mainspring barrels with 240 hours of energy storage capacity and a tourbillon precision regulator composed of 72 individual parts.
Characteristic of Patek Philippe, hardly any signs on the outside of the piece would 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. The reference 5101 in platinum features the distinctive feature of carrying both the official C.O.S.C. (Contrle Officiel Suisse de Chronomtre) certification and the Geneva Seal.
Reference 5101 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by O. Patrizzi, vol. II, plate 1245, p. 307.
To the best of our knowledge this watch has never before been offered in public.
It takes much more than a cursory glance at Patek Philippe's debut showpiece from Basel 2003 to realise that the reference 5101P is a highly complicated wristwatch. In fact it is the first timepiece combining two complications which are very difficult to accommodate in the confined space of a rectangular movement: two tandem mainspring barrels with 240 hours of energy storage capacity and a tourbillon precision regulator composed of 72 individual parts.
Characteristic of Patek Philippe, hardly any signs on the outside of the piece would 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. The reference 5101 in platinum features the distinctive feature of carrying both the official C.O.S.C. (Contrle Officiel Suisse de Chronomtre) certification and the Geneva Seal.
Reference 5101 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by O. Patrizzi, vol. II, plate 1245, p. 307.