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Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Certificate of Origin inside a frame and Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with silvered dial and applied gold hour markers in 1943 and its subsequent sale on 3 February 1945.
This reference 1518 is an early example dating from 1943 and featuring all the elements a scholar would expect:
- the long signature Patek Philippe & Co. which was after WW II abandoned for the shorter version omitting the "& Co."
- the larger weekday and month apertures with less angled frame facets - the more "squeezed" tachometer scale calibrated to "Base 1000" and the smaller calibration
Another feature which will appeal to scholars and collectors alike is the presence of the original certificate dated 5 February 1945. This demonstrates impressively how rare sales of such important watches were during the war years as the present watch wasn't purchased for nearly two years since its making.
Reference 1518
Reference 1518 was launched in 1941 and according to literature, only 281 examples were made until 1954, the majority cased in yellow gold. It was furthermore the first perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch produced in series by any watch company. The model was later replaced by reference 2499 (see lots 139 and 427 in this auction), also a perpetual calendar chronograph, but with a wider diameter and fluted lugs.
Reference 1518 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, first edition p. 231 pl. 386, second edition p. 303 pl. 459, and in Armbanduhren - 100 Jahre Entwicklungsgeschichte by Kahlert, Mühe, Brunner, second edition p. 127.
This reference 1518 is an early example dating from 1943 and featuring all the elements a scholar would expect:
- the long signature Patek Philippe & Co. which was after WW II abandoned for the shorter version omitting the "& Co."
- the larger weekday and month apertures with less angled frame facets - the more "squeezed" tachometer scale calibrated to "Base 1000" and the smaller calibration
Another feature which will appeal to scholars and collectors alike is the presence of the original certificate dated 5 February 1945. This demonstrates impressively how rare sales of such important watches were during the war years as the present watch wasn't purchased for nearly two years since its making.
Reference 1518
Reference 1518 was launched in 1941 and according to literature, only 281 examples were made until 1954, the majority cased in yellow gold. It was furthermore the first perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch produced in series by any watch company. The model was later replaced by reference 2499 (see lots 139 and 427 in this auction), also a perpetual calendar chronograph, but with a wider diameter and fluted lugs.
Reference 1518 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, first edition p. 231 pl. 386, second edition p. 303 pl. 459, and in Armbanduhren - 100 Jahre Entwicklungsgeschichte by Kahlert, Mühe, Brunner, second edition p. 127.