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拍品專文
Collectors of rare wristwatches are fascinated by complications and their complex mechanisms. However, wristwatches fitted with cloisonné enamel dials take a most prominent position in terms of beauty, craftsmanship, and rarity. Produced mostly in the 1940s and 50s, Patek Philippe made an exceedingly small number of "time only" wristwatches where highly detailed and incredibly artistic cloisonné enamel dials were fitted. Only an extremely small number of watches were upgraded with these wonderful dials, depicting popular motifs such as a jungle, a lighthouse and sail boats, flowers, portraits, and maps.
The production of these dials were extremely costly as they had to be individually made by a skilled craftsman and not on a production line. The artist created an outline of the desired motif by arranging thin gold wires on a dial. These partitions, called "cloisonné" in French, 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, the dial was hand-polished until a perfectly flat surface was obtained. The dial’s splendor and vivid colors sit marvelously in its fitted 18k rose gold case bearing number 370 on its inside case front, as well as inside case back, confirmed by its Extract from the Archives.
The present dial was specially ordered in 1950, and was most likely originally delivered to France, to be housed in a French-manufactured case. After World War II, this was quite common practice as an economic post war effort. It was prohibited to import foreign jewelry to France, so many Swiss makers had their cases made in France, often after their own Swiss model. Given these constraints, Patek Philippe worked closely with French firms such as Guillermin, providing dials and movements under the agreement that Patek Philippe standards would be upheld.
This watch was sold previously at Christie’s in 2005, and has remained well-preserved with the present consignor. Today, most of the vintage wristwatches by Patek Philippe fitted with cloisonné enamel dials are either in the world's most important and exclusive private collections, or housed permanently in the firm’s museum in Geneva. Consequently, opportunities to acquire one example, especially of such beauty, have become extremely rare events in the international auction arena.
The production of these dials were extremely costly as they had to be individually made by a skilled craftsman and not on a production line. The artist created an outline of the desired motif by arranging thin gold wires on a dial. These partitions, called "cloisonné" in French, 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, the dial was hand-polished until a perfectly flat surface was obtained. The dial’s splendor and vivid colors sit marvelously in its fitted 18k rose gold case bearing number 370 on its inside case front, as well as inside case back, confirmed by its Extract from the Archives.
The present dial was specially ordered in 1950, and was most likely originally delivered to France, to be housed in a French-manufactured case. After World War II, this was quite common practice as an economic post war effort. It was prohibited to import foreign jewelry to France, so many Swiss makers had their cases made in France, often after their own Swiss model. Given these constraints, Patek Philippe worked closely with French firms such as Guillermin, providing dials and movements under the agreement that Patek Philippe standards would be upheld.
This watch was sold previously at Christie’s in 2005, and has remained well-preserved with the present consignor. Today, most of the vintage wristwatches by Patek Philippe fitted with cloisonné enamel dials are either in the world's most important and exclusive private collections, or housed permanently in the firm’s museum in Geneva. Consequently, opportunities to acquire one example, especially of such beauty, have become extremely rare events in the international auction arena.