PATEK PHILIPPE. A RARE AND EARLY 18K GOLD RECTANGULAR CURVED HINGED WRISTWATCH WITH GILT DIAL AND “EXPLOSION” NUMERALS

Many of the watches offered for sale in this catal… Read more

PATEK PHILIPPEEarly “Explosion” Numerals Ref. 11The Property of an Italian Private Collector

PATEK PHILIPPE. A RARE AND EARLY 18K GOLD RECTANGULAR CURVED HINGED WRISTWATCH WITH GILT DIAL AND “EXPLOSION” NUMERALS

SIGNED PATEK PHILIPPE & CO, GENEVE, RETAILED BY EBERHARD MILAN, REF. 10, MOVEMENT NO. 192’464, CASE NO. 287’540, MANUFACTURED IN 1919

Details

PATEK PHILIPPE. A RARE AND EARLY 18K GOLD RECTANGULAR CURVED HINGED WRISTWATCH WITH GILT DIAL AND “EXPLOSION” NUMERALS
SIGNED PATEK PHILIPPE & CO, GENEVE, RETAILED BY EBERHARD MILAN, REF. 10, MOVEMENT NO. 192’464, CASE NO. 287’540, MANUFACTURED IN 1919
Movement: cal. 9’”, manual, 15 jewels, signed
Dial: signed by maker and retailer
Case: hinged curved back, 23.8 mm. wide, 41 mm. overall length, signed
With: later 18K gold Patek Philippe buckle, Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with silvered dial and dauphine numerals in 1919 and its subsequent sale on 9 September 1921.

Special Notice

Many of the watches offered for sale in this catalogue are pictured with straps made of endangered or protected animal materials such as alligator or crocodile. These endangered species straps are shown for display purposes only and are not for sale. Christie’s will remove and retain the strap prior to shipment from the sale site. At some sale sites, Christie’s may, at its discretion, make the displayed endangered species strap available to the buyer of the lot free of charge if collected in person from the sale site within 1 year of the date of the sale. Please check with the department for details on a particular lot. On lots marked with an + in the catalogue, VAT will be charged at 7.7% on both the premium as well as the hammer price.

Lot Essay

To the best of our knowledge the present ref. 11 has never been offered in public before. It is preserved in very attractive overall condition and believed to be the only example with the retailer signature Eberhard Milan known to exist to date.

Made in a small series only, ref. 11, the “little sister” of ref. 10, see the previous lot in this auction, is distinguished by the rectangular curved hinged case and the stretched “explosion” or “tumbling” numerals, rendering it a very unique look.

It was originally named “model 11” before being attributed ref. 11 in 1934 with the beginning of the official reference system at Patek Philippe. The models were fitted with two-part hinged curved cases, the movements were 9’’’ or 10’’’ LeCoultre based calibres. The dials were supplied by Stern Frères, silvered matte or gilt, with various types of numerals. More than half of the production of ref. 11 was sold to the US.

It is rare to find a nearly 100-year-old wristwatch in such well preserved overall condition as the present example.

The model is illustrated in Patek Philippe Watches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, 1998, p. 106, pl. 116 – 118.

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