Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, Nov 08, 2015

LOT 241

PATEK PHILIPPE GRANDE & PETITE SONNERIE CLOCKWATCH WITH TRIP MINUTE REPEATING Patek, Philippe & Co., Genève, movement No. 97217, case No. 211827, retailed by Marenzeller's Wien. Made in 1893, sold on May 23rd, 1894. Extremely fine and exceptionally rare, 18K gold, two-train, grande and petite sonnerie striking keyless clockwatch with trip minute-repeating. Accompanied by a heavy 18K gold chain and the Extract from the Archives.

CHF 45,000 - 65,000

HKD 360,000 - 520,000 / USD 47,000 - 67,000

Sold: CHF 219,750

Four-body, forme collier, polished, engine-turned back with offset small engraved monogram, the band with selection slides for grande/petite sonnerie and strike/silent. Hinged gold cuvette engraved with the retailer's details. White enamel with Breguet numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds. Blued steel Breguet hands. 19''', rhodium plated, fausses cotes decoration, twin barrels with tandem winding, 33 jewels, counterpoised and calibrated straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring with overcoil, swan-neck micrometer regulator, striking the hours and quarters and repeating with two hammers on two gongs, repeating activated by a trip-slide on the band.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-71-01

Good

ENAMEL AND VARIOUS TYPES OF DECORATION Hairlines

HANDS Original

Notes

Dial, case, cuvette and movement signed. DIAM. 50 mm. GRANDE & PETITE SONNERIE STRIKING A clockwatch strikes at every passing quarter-hour exactly in the same way as a clock. In the present watch, two options are available depending on what the user prefers: GRANDE SONNERIE, whereby the hours are struck followed by the quarters at every quarter-hour and PETITE SONNERIE whereby the hours are struck at the hour and at the quarters only the quarters are struck. A silence mode can be activated when striking is not desired, for example during the night. The grande et petite sonnerie striking mechanism is one of the most complex single complications possible in a watch, it is thought that less than ten PATEK PHILIPPE clockwatches with no other complications were ever made. Two examples were produced for the legendary watch collector JAMES WARD PACKARD: see: Huber & Banbery, Patek Philippe, 1994. P. 240-241. Clockwatches with no added complications are far less common than those with multiple other complications, to find an example by Patek Philippe is exceptional. A similar watch was sold by Antiquorum, Geneva, December 10th, 1988, lot 409.