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Lot Essay
It is most unusual for such a highly-finished precision watch by Patek Philippe to bear only the name of the retailer on the dial. However, Bailey, Banks and Biddle of Philadelphia were rather an important agent of Patek Philippe, by the 1880s the company was second only to Tiffany & Co. Of New York.
This Patek Philippe ‘triple complication’ watch is one of the masterpieces of watchmaking for which the company has become justly famous, it combines in one watch the three complications for which Patek Philippe is most admired – minute repeating, perpetual calendar and chronograph. It is particularly notable in being an early example of a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watch and in being fitted in an openface case rather than the more usual hunting case used at this period.
Between 1889 with the patent of the perpetual calendar mechanism and 1904, Patek Philippe patented many mechanisms used in its watch movements. This was an extremely important period in the company’s history when its reputation as the maker of the finest, most complicated, functional and attractive watches in the world was becoming firmly established. Most of Patek Philippe’s highly complicated movements and special projects were constructed using ebauches supplied by the legendary maker Victorin Piguet & Cie of Le Sentier, the present watch is no exception. The firm supplied most of the ébauches for complicated movements, including tourbillons, single button and split seconds chronographs, repeaters and perpetual calendars, exclusively to prestigious firms like Patek Philippe.
The three complications found in the present watch were first brought together in one watch in the mid-1870s. Only a very small number of these Patek Philippe ‘triple complication’ watches are known publicly or have ever been offered for sale at auction. A great prize of exceptional quality, the present watch would make an impressive addition to any serious watch collection.
This Patek Philippe ‘triple complication’ watch is one of the masterpieces of watchmaking for which the company has become justly famous, it combines in one watch the three complications for which Patek Philippe is most admired – minute repeating, perpetual calendar and chronograph. It is particularly notable in being an early example of a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watch and in being fitted in an openface case rather than the more usual hunting case used at this period.
Between 1889 with the patent of the perpetual calendar mechanism and 1904, Patek Philippe patented many mechanisms used in its watch movements. This was an extremely important period in the company’s history when its reputation as the maker of the finest, most complicated, functional and attractive watches in the world was becoming firmly established. Most of Patek Philippe’s highly complicated movements and special projects were constructed using ebauches supplied by the legendary maker Victorin Piguet & Cie of Le Sentier, the present watch is no exception. The firm supplied most of the ébauches for complicated movements, including tourbillons, single button and split seconds chronographs, repeaters and perpetual calendars, exclusively to prestigious firms like Patek Philippe.
The three complications found in the present watch were first brought together in one watch in the mid-1870s. Only a very small number of these Patek Philippe ‘triple complication’ watches are known publicly or have ever been offered for sale at auction. A great prize of exceptional quality, the present watch would make an impressive addition to any serious watch collection.