Property of descendants of the original owner The following two lots, 240 and 241, were consigned by descendants of the original owner, the general manager of the brown coal mining company N.V. Louisegroeve in Graetheide, Limburg province of the Netherlands. The two mines were called Louise I and Louise II, named after his only daughter Louise, and in full exploitation from 1917 until their closure in 1921. Following the end of World War I and the shortage of fuel, coal was particularly in demand, its limited supplies rendering it very expensive. The entire production was sold to the Dutch Government who in return resold it to their customers. According to family tradition, the engraved inscription "Souvenir aan Graetheide 1921 - 1927" on the cuvettes of the two watches refers to the lawsuit the first owner filed in 1921 against the Dutch Government, following the discovery that the price paid by the latter for the coal was much inferior to the resale price. The lawsuit was finally settled in 1927, he received an important compensation and decided to order a total of five watches from J. Bornefeld in Den Haag, Patek Philippe's retailer at the time, presumably all embellished with engraved representations of the mines. He kept watch no. 157'145 (lot 240), engraved with his initials "FS" which was then handed down to his daughter Louise, the grandmother of the present owner. Lot 240, watch no. 157'141, was a gift for his son-in-law, initials "JS", on the occasion of the marriage with his daughter Louise. As explained in the catalogue description, watch no. 157'145 is accompanied by the Certificate of Origin belonging to watch no. 157'093, also a minute repeating hunter case watch retailed by J. Bornefeld in Den Haag. It can safely be assumed that this watch was part of the series of five ordered by the first owner and that the two certificates were mistakenly exchanged. The two watches from this series offered now for sale have remained in the family ever since and are distinguished by their very good, original overall condition, the original boxes and certificate for watch no. 157'141. Furthermore their freshness to the market, the unusual engraving and interesting provenance render these two watches highly attractive for the collector of rare timepieces.

Patek Philippe. A fine, rare and unusual 18K gold hunter case minute repeating keyless lever watch with engraved representation of brown coal mine N.V. Louisegroeve and box

SIGNED PATEK PHILIPPE & CIE., GENÈVE, MOVEMENT NO. 157'145, CASE NO. 413'598, MANUFACTURED IN 1910

Details

Patek Philippe. A fine, rare and unusual 18K gold hunter case minute repeating keyless lever watch with engraved representation of brown coal mine N.V. Louisegroeve and box
Signed Patek Philippe & Cie., Genève, movement no. 157'145, case no. 413'598, manufactured in 1910
Cal. 18''' mechanical jeweled lever movement, bimetallic compensation balance, wolf's tooth winding, minute repeating on two hammers onto two gongs, gold cuvette with engraved inscription Souvenir aan Graetheide 1921 - 1927, white enamel dial, Breguet numerals, subsidiary seconds, circular case, engine-turned back centred by engraved initials FS, engraved representation of the brown coal mine N.V. Louisegroeve in Graetheide (Limburg) to the front, repeating slide in the band, case stamped and numbered, cuvette signed and numbered, dial and movement signed
51 mm. diam.

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Lot Essay

With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with enamel dial and Breguet numerals in 1910 and its subsequent sale on 4 November 1927. The Extract also confirms the engraved monogram on the engine-turned case back. Furthermore delivered with a Patek Philippe contemporary presentation box also stamped J. Bornefeld, Chronometermaker, Den Haag, containing a spare spring and a gold chain.

The Patek Philippe Certificat d'Origine & de Garantie delivered with this watch bears a different number, 157'093, and confirms the initials CR, however with the same technical specifications and also stamped J. Bornefeld, Den Haag, leading to the assumption that it has mistakenly been exchanged with the certificate of one of the first owner's other minute repeating watches.

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