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Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1953 and its subsequent sale on December 17th of the same year.
To the best of our knowledge this watch has never before been offered in public.
According to our research, this watch is one of eight known "Foret Vierge" cloisonné dial 2481s to exist including two examples presently on display at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. The dial was made by dial-maker Stern Freres by one of their most celebrated artists, Marguerite Koch. As an enamellist specializing in cloisonné enamel, she did work for Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, and Patek Philippe.
Koch's technique and inspiration for Patek Philippe's Tahitian dial scenes was no doubt inspired by the work of the post-impressionist artist Paul Gaugin (1848-1903). Gauguin expressed the essence of the objects in his art with a style known as Cloisonnism, a method of painting with flat areas of color with bold outlines. This work is best exemplified by his depictions of Tahitian forests in the 1890s, a subject matter and style also depicted on Koch's "Foret Vierge" dials.
The production of such dials was extremely costly as they had to be individually made by Stern Freres. Koch created the outline of the desired motif by arranging thin gold wires on a dial. These partitions were filled with small quantities of enamel powder in the desired color. The dial was then fired in an oven at around 1000 degrees Celsius causing the powder to melt. Finally it was hand-polished until obtaining a perfectly flat surface.
The presently offered watch is fresh to the market and was only recently discovered by the original family in a suitcase once belonging to their deceased father. The watch was very close to being discarded when a family member checked inside the bag and found the lost timepiece. Fortunately, the watch was discovered within the bag safely tucked within its original Patek Philippe box from the 1950's.
To the best of our knowledge this watch has never before been offered in public.
According to our research, this watch is one of eight known "Foret Vierge" cloisonné dial 2481s to exist including two examples presently on display at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. The dial was made by dial-maker Stern Freres by one of their most celebrated artists, Marguerite Koch. As an enamellist specializing in cloisonné enamel, she did work for Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, and Patek Philippe.
Koch's technique and inspiration for Patek Philippe's Tahitian dial scenes was no doubt inspired by the work of the post-impressionist artist Paul Gaugin (1848-1903). Gauguin expressed the essence of the objects in his art with a style known as Cloisonnism, a method of painting with flat areas of color with bold outlines. This work is best exemplified by his depictions of Tahitian forests in the 1890s, a subject matter and style also depicted on Koch's "Foret Vierge" dials.
The production of such dials was extremely costly as they had to be individually made by Stern Freres. Koch created the outline of the desired motif by arranging thin gold wires on a dial. These partitions were filled with small quantities of enamel powder in the desired color. The dial was then fired in an oven at around 1000 degrees Celsius causing the powder to melt. Finally it was hand-polished until obtaining a perfectly flat surface.
The presently offered watch is fresh to the market and was only recently discovered by the original family in a suitcase once belonging to their deceased father. The watch was very close to being discarded when a family member checked inside the bag and found the lost timepiece. Fortunately, the watch was discovered within the bag safely tucked within its original Patek Philippe box from the 1950's.