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拍品专文
Today's collectors value individualism and exclusivity, even in the rarefied world of complicated Patek Philippe masterpieces. The reference 3448 is one of the most sought after of all Patek Philippe’s vintage complicated wristwatches, its minimal good looks and large size is perfectly suited for today’s most discerning collectors. Only 586 examples of the 3448 were ever made, of these, only an incredible three specimens, including the present watch, are known to be double-signed for the highly prestigious Zürich retailer Beyer Chronometrie. The present watch is therefore one of the most individual and exclusive specimens of the great classic reference 3448 to be offered at auction.
Entirely fresh to the market, it is a wonderfully untouched and honest example featuring an extremely attractive and well preserved dial with perfectly clear markers and signatures. As a last series dial, it displays the “Aprior” mark on either side of the word “Swiss” at 6 o’clock and the minute divisions are painted batons, perfectly complementing the gold baton hour markers. The silky finish is a feature of the very best dials made by Stern Frères, called ‘satiné opalin’. The 18K gold case is in similarly original condition with clearly legible hallmarks and sharp, well-defined edges. Another noteworthy feature is the sapphire crystal which was only available to the last generation of reference 3448 as of the late 1970s. Interestingly, due to the different fitting compared to the plastic version used for the first sixteen years of production, the bezel is also of different proportions and is more comparable to the type used for reference 3450, the succeeding model with leap year indication. It is thought that less than 10 of the total production of reference 3448 were fitted with a sapphire crystal.
Beyer Chronometrie Zurich
Since its foundation in 1760, the prestigious firm has always been passed down from father to son, each a fully trained watchmaker. Beyer Chronometrie was the first shop in Switzerland specializing exclusively in watches, clocks and jewellery and has been retailing watches signed Patek Philippe for over 165 years. The firm is currently managed by René Beyer who represents the eight generation of the Beyer family.
The company also owns the renowned Clock and Watch Museum Beyer Zürich, one of the world's most important horological collections. It comprises some 500 pieces dating from 1400 BC to the present day.
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Reference 3448
Reference 3448, introduced into the market in 1962, was at the time the first self-winding perpetual calendar wristwatch. According to literature, a total of 586 examples were made, the majority in yellow gold cases. Only around 130 were cased in white gold, 2 in platinum and 1 in pink gold are known to exist to date.
Reference 3448 was fitted with the celebrated caliber 27-460, amongst the most sophisticated and lavish automatic movements ever made. It was later upgraded with Patek Philippe's patented perpetual mechanism fitted on the movement plate underneath the dial and renamed 27-460 Q.
Reference 3448 was available with four different dial styles:
-enamelled small baton minute divisions from 1962 to circa 1965
-beady minute divisions and small date ring from 1965 to circa 1973
-beady minute divisions and large date ring: 1971 to circa 1978
-printed, not enamelled small baton minute divisions: after 1978
In 1981, reference 3450 was introduced into the market with the improved 27'460 QB (Quantime Bissextile) caliber. The model differs from its predecessor by the modified leap year indication, the eccentric small window to 4 o'clock.
With the launch of reference 3940 in 1985, production of both references 3448 and 3450 was discontinued.
Entirely fresh to the market, it is a wonderfully untouched and honest example featuring an extremely attractive and well preserved dial with perfectly clear markers and signatures. As a last series dial, it displays the “Aprior” mark on either side of the word “Swiss” at 6 o’clock and the minute divisions are painted batons, perfectly complementing the gold baton hour markers. The silky finish is a feature of the very best dials made by Stern Frères, called ‘satiné opalin’. The 18K gold case is in similarly original condition with clearly legible hallmarks and sharp, well-defined edges. Another noteworthy feature is the sapphire crystal which was only available to the last generation of reference 3448 as of the late 1970s. Interestingly, due to the different fitting compared to the plastic version used for the first sixteen years of production, the bezel is also of different proportions and is more comparable to the type used for reference 3450, the succeeding model with leap year indication. It is thought that less than 10 of the total production of reference 3448 were fitted with a sapphire crystal.
Beyer Chronometrie Zurich
Since its foundation in 1760, the prestigious firm has always been passed down from father to son, each a fully trained watchmaker. Beyer Chronometrie was the first shop in Switzerland specializing exclusively in watches, clocks and jewellery and has been retailing watches signed Patek Philippe for over 165 years. The firm is currently managed by René Beyer who represents the eight generation of the Beyer family.
The company also owns the renowned Clock and Watch Museum Beyer Zürich, one of the world's most important horological collections. It comprises some 500 pieces dating from 1400 BC to the present day.
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Reference 3448
Reference 3448, introduced into the market in 1962, was at the time the first self-winding perpetual calendar wristwatch. According to literature, a total of 586 examples were made, the majority in yellow gold cases. Only around 130 were cased in white gold, 2 in platinum and 1 in pink gold are known to exist to date.
Reference 3448 was fitted with the celebrated caliber 27-460, amongst the most sophisticated and lavish automatic movements ever made. It was later upgraded with Patek Philippe's patented perpetual mechanism fitted on the movement plate underneath the dial and renamed 27-460 Q.
Reference 3448 was available with four different dial styles:
-enamelled small baton minute divisions from 1962 to circa 1965
-beady minute divisions and small date ring from 1965 to circa 1973
-beady minute divisions and large date ring: 1971 to circa 1978
-printed, not enamelled small baton minute divisions: after 1978
In 1981, reference 3450 was introduced into the market with the improved 27'460 QB (Quantime Bissextile) caliber. The model differs from its predecessor by the modified leap year indication, the eccentric small window to 4 o'clock.
With the launch of reference 3940 in 1985, production of both references 3448 and 3450 was discontinued.