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拍品專文
It is a great privilege for Christie’s to present this sensational and probably unique yellow gold reference 3448/17. Fitted with the original Extract confirmed integral yellow gold bracelet – it is one of the most luxurious and attractive of all reference 3448. Remarkably, it is also accompanied by the original Patek Philippe Certificate of Origin and presentation box. Selected by the owner of the Ultimate Collection as a peerless specimen of reference 3448, it exemplifies rarity, condition and originality so that for even the most demanding of collectors, the present watch offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to discover, handle and possess (either temporarily or permanently) one of the most significant and important specimens of the reference.
A timepiece of compelling beauty, it is believed that the present watch is the only example of reference 3448/17 to exist in yellow gold. One other also probably unique white gold specimen (movement no. 1’119’494) was sold by Christie’s Geneva, 13 November 2001, lot 17.
Another interesting and rare feature of this watch is that the calendar discs are in German. Across all series and colours of reference 3448, the German calendar is the rarest, with most examples being in either English or French.
To many watch collectors, the Patek Philippe reference 3448 is one of the most perfect vintage wristwatches ever created. With ideal proportions and minimalist uncluttered dial design, few 20th century Patek Philippe wristwatches have such appeal. The story of the perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch walks hand in hand with the history of Patek Philippe itself. These technically remarkable timepieces so closely linked to the fortunes of the company over the last 80 years, are justifiably the ultimate ownership goal of collectors worldwide. The present watch, almost certainly unique, is one of the pre-eminent watches of the entire reference.
STUDY OF REFERENCE 3448/17
MOVEMENT NO. 1’119’563, CASE NO. 332’901
Dial
The almost perfectly preserved last-series solid gold dial was made by Stern Frères around 1978, matte silvered with black paint applied by transfer for the signature, the ‘o-swiss-o’ inscription, the outer minutes markers and the German calendar discs which is correct for this late series dial. The silky finish is a feature of the very best dials made by Stern Frères, called ‘satiné opalin’, it is associated with several of Patek Philippe’s complicated references of the 20th century. The calendar window angles are sharp as expected and the three yellow gold hands are original hand-cut and finished and, of course, perfectly matching. The moon phase disc is solid gold with champlevé blue enamel sky.
Case
The beautifully preserved case was delivered around 1978, made by master casemaker Antoine Gerlach, it is constructed in three pieces in 18k yellow gold with snap-on bezel and back, the hand-forged ‘Calatrava’ crown also in yellow gold. The case retains full original proportions and angles, the central part is horizontally brushed, the bezel and rim of the case back are mirror polished.
Movement
Made circa 1978, calibre 27 460 Q (Q for Quantième), rhodiumed brass, based on a 27 460 Patek Philippe in-house movement, Gyromax balance.
Bracelet
Integral hand-made yellow gold. Only one yellow gold (the present watch) reference 3448/17 is known to exist, the ‘/17’ of the reference number refers to this bracelet. Fully signed Patek Philippe, the manufacture of these superb quality bracelets was entrusted to the best goldsmiths in Europe that could be found at the time.
Reference 3448
Introduced into the market in 1962, reference 3448 was the first automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch produced in series by any manufacturer.
According to scholarship, a total of 586 examples were made, the majority in yellow gold cases.
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 QB. The cases were made by Antoine Gerlach, specialised case-maker for ‘Calatrava’ and ‘modern’ shape cases for Patek Philippe, for instance the pocket watch ref. 844 or the ref. 3445 mono-date wrist-watch.
This model is the perfect embodiment of a transitional period in the evolution of watchmaking design. Wristwatches had moved from the flamboyant cases and multi-tone sector dials of the 1920s and 1930s, to the military-flavoured creations of the 1940s, with telemeter and tachymeter railroad scales. With the 1950s and 60s a new trend took shape: the technological advances of the time inspired, in all fields of design, futuristic shapes and cleaner looks. This watch perfectly epitomizes such trend: the dial is pared-down to the extreme, a remarkable feat of design considered that, after all, this is still a perpetual calendar with moon phases and as such the amount of information that the dial has to display is quite substantial. The case is a triumph of clean looks and sharp edges: the circular polished case with flat satin-finished band and generous sloping blank bezel looks decades away from the construction of previous models.
As standard, reference 3448 can be found with four kinds of dial over the period of its production:
-with enamelled small baton minute divisions (1962 to 1965)
-with beady minute divisions and small date ring (1965 to 1972)
-with beady minute divisions and large date ring (1971 to 1978)
-with printed (not enamelled) small baton minute divisions after 1978
Literature Reference 3448 is illustrated in: Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches - Volume II, p. 296.
Patek Philippe Wristwatches, Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 288.
Ref. 3448 is also illustrated in: Blue Book 1, by
Eric Tortella, 2018 edition, pp. 540 to 581.
Ore d'Oro, Jader Barracca, Giampiero Negretti and Franco Nencini, p. 45.
A timepiece of compelling beauty, it is believed that the present watch is the only example of reference 3448/17 to exist in yellow gold. One other also probably unique white gold specimen (movement no. 1’119’494) was sold by Christie’s Geneva, 13 November 2001, lot 17.
Another interesting and rare feature of this watch is that the calendar discs are in German. Across all series and colours of reference 3448, the German calendar is the rarest, with most examples being in either English or French.
To many watch collectors, the Patek Philippe reference 3448 is one of the most perfect vintage wristwatches ever created. With ideal proportions and minimalist uncluttered dial design, few 20th century Patek Philippe wristwatches have such appeal. The story of the perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch walks hand in hand with the history of Patek Philippe itself. These technically remarkable timepieces so closely linked to the fortunes of the company over the last 80 years, are justifiably the ultimate ownership goal of collectors worldwide. The present watch, almost certainly unique, is one of the pre-eminent watches of the entire reference.
STUDY OF REFERENCE 3448/17
MOVEMENT NO. 1’119’563, CASE NO. 332’901
Dial
The almost perfectly preserved last-series solid gold dial was made by Stern Frères around 1978, matte silvered with black paint applied by transfer for the signature, the ‘o-swiss-o’ inscription, the outer minutes markers and the German calendar discs which is correct for this late series dial. The silky finish is a feature of the very best dials made by Stern Frères, called ‘satiné opalin’, it is associated with several of Patek Philippe’s complicated references of the 20th century. The calendar window angles are sharp as expected and the three yellow gold hands are original hand-cut and finished and, of course, perfectly matching. The moon phase disc is solid gold with champlevé blue enamel sky.
Case
The beautifully preserved case was delivered around 1978, made by master casemaker Antoine Gerlach, it is constructed in three pieces in 18k yellow gold with snap-on bezel and back, the hand-forged ‘Calatrava’ crown also in yellow gold. The case retains full original proportions and angles, the central part is horizontally brushed, the bezel and rim of the case back are mirror polished.
Movement
Made circa 1978, calibre 27 460 Q (Q for Quantième), rhodiumed brass, based on a 27 460 Patek Philippe in-house movement, Gyromax balance.
Bracelet
Integral hand-made yellow gold. Only one yellow gold (the present watch) reference 3448/17 is known to exist, the ‘/17’ of the reference number refers to this bracelet. Fully signed Patek Philippe, the manufacture of these superb quality bracelets was entrusted to the best goldsmiths in Europe that could be found at the time.
Reference 3448
Introduced into the market in 1962, reference 3448 was the first automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch produced in series by any manufacturer.
According to scholarship, a total of 586 examples were made, the majority in yellow gold cases.
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 QB. The cases were made by Antoine Gerlach, specialised case-maker for ‘Calatrava’ and ‘modern’ shape cases for Patek Philippe, for instance the pocket watch ref. 844 or the ref. 3445 mono-date wrist-watch.
This model is the perfect embodiment of a transitional period in the evolution of watchmaking design. Wristwatches had moved from the flamboyant cases and multi-tone sector dials of the 1920s and 1930s, to the military-flavoured creations of the 1940s, with telemeter and tachymeter railroad scales. With the 1950s and 60s a new trend took shape: the technological advances of the time inspired, in all fields of design, futuristic shapes and cleaner looks. This watch perfectly epitomizes such trend: the dial is pared-down to the extreme, a remarkable feat of design considered that, after all, this is still a perpetual calendar with moon phases and as such the amount of information that the dial has to display is quite substantial. The case is a triumph of clean looks and sharp edges: the circular polished case with flat satin-finished band and generous sloping blank bezel looks decades away from the construction of previous models.
As standard, reference 3448 can be found with four kinds of dial over the period of its production:
-with enamelled small baton minute divisions (1962 to 1965)
-with beady minute divisions and small date ring (1965 to 1972)
-with beady minute divisions and large date ring (1971 to 1978)
-with printed (not enamelled) small baton minute divisions after 1978
Literature Reference 3448 is illustrated in: Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches - Volume II, p. 296.
Patek Philippe Wristwatches, Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 288.
Ref. 3448 is also illustrated in: Blue Book 1, by
Eric Tortella, 2018 edition, pp. 540 to 581.
Ore d'Oro, Jader Barracca, Giampiero Negretti and Franco Nencini, p. 45.