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Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1960 and its subsequent sale on 7 November 1960 and original fitted black presentation box.
To the best of our knowledge this watch has never been offered at auction before and was so far only known from a black and white archival image. It is furthermore only the second example of a reference 650 with enamel miniature to appear in public to date. It is interesting to note that the other reference 650 in yellow gold with very similar enamel miniature, also retailed by Gobbi in Milan, was sold in this saleroom on 13 November 2006, lot 448. Another noteworthy fact is that the two watches have consecutive case numbers: 423'265 and 423'266, furthermore highlighting their exceptional rarity.
For over 3,000 years, fine enamelling has decorated and enriched watches, jewellery and objects d'art. Patek Philippe maintains this rare craft of miniature enamelling, traditionally associated with the finest Geneva timepieces, and in many ways the most difficult of the decorative arts.
Nowadays, only few artists, notably Suzanne Rohr, still master this art. These fine Patek Philippe timepieces are, in general, unique pieces made to special order with the subject matter to be represented chosen by the client. They often include famous landscape and portrait paintings, celebrities or even family members of the future owner.
The enamel miniature on the present watch is after Rachel Ruysch's "Basket of Flowers", 1711, oil on wood, 46 x 62 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750)
Rachel Ruysch is regarded by many as the best female Dutch painter of the 17th and 18th centuries. A student of the artist Willem van Aelst, she mastered the genre of still life, specializing in flowers pictures. Her command of technique, her sense of composition, and her use of colours added a compelling vibrancy to her still-life paintings. Ruysch's style and subject choice of flowers rarely changed throughout her career. Her flowers seem to glow with an inner light, even though their delicate petals and overgrown blooms show signs of the ravages of time.
Famous examples of works by Rachel Ruysch include "Basket of Flowers" (1711, Uffizi, Florence), such as the present enamel miniature, and "A Vase of Flowers" (1706, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna).
In later years Ruysch served as court painter to Johann Wilhelm of Bavaria, where she remained until 1716. The flowers she painted were popular and exotic; a status symbol among the middle wealthy classes. In 1716 Ruysch returned to Holland, where she remained painting flower pictures for clients until her death at a grand old age of 85.
Originals of her paintings can be found in many of the world's most renowned art museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The National Gallery London, the Uffizi, Florence, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
To the best of our knowledge this watch has never been offered at auction before and was so far only known from a black and white archival image. It is furthermore only the second example of a reference 650 with enamel miniature to appear in public to date. It is interesting to note that the other reference 650 in yellow gold with very similar enamel miniature, also retailed by Gobbi in Milan, was sold in this saleroom on 13 November 2006, lot 448. Another noteworthy fact is that the two watches have consecutive case numbers: 423'265 and 423'266, furthermore highlighting their exceptional rarity.
For over 3,000 years, fine enamelling has decorated and enriched watches, jewellery and objects d'art. Patek Philippe maintains this rare craft of miniature enamelling, traditionally associated with the finest Geneva timepieces, and in many ways the most difficult of the decorative arts.
Nowadays, only few artists, notably Suzanne Rohr, still master this art. These fine Patek Philippe timepieces are, in general, unique pieces made to special order with the subject matter to be represented chosen by the client. They often include famous landscape and portrait paintings, celebrities or even family members of the future owner.
The enamel miniature on the present watch is after Rachel Ruysch's "Basket of Flowers", 1711, oil on wood, 46 x 62 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750)
Rachel Ruysch is regarded by many as the best female Dutch painter of the 17th and 18th centuries. A student of the artist Willem van Aelst, she mastered the genre of still life, specializing in flowers pictures. Her command of technique, her sense of composition, and her use of colours added a compelling vibrancy to her still-life paintings. Ruysch's style and subject choice of flowers rarely changed throughout her career. Her flowers seem to glow with an inner light, even though their delicate petals and overgrown blooms show signs of the ravages of time.
Famous examples of works by Rachel Ruysch include "Basket of Flowers" (1711, Uffizi, Florence), such as the present enamel miniature, and "A Vase of Flowers" (1706, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna).
In later years Ruysch served as court painter to Johann Wilhelm of Bavaria, where she remained until 1716. The flowers she painted were popular and exotic; a status symbol among the middle wealthy classes. In 1716 Ruysch returned to Holland, where she remained painting flower pictures for clients until her death at a grand old age of 85.
Originals of her paintings can be found in many of the world's most renowned art museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The National Gallery London, the Uffizi, Florence, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.