Collector's Pocket Watches, Wristwatc...

New York, Grand Havana Room, May 21, 2003

LOT 253

Patek Philippe & Cie, Genève,retailed by Tiffany & Co., New York, No. 171255, case No. 288561. Produced in 1912, sold in May of 1925 to Tiffany & Co.Very fine and very rare, large, rectangular curved, 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch with an 18K yellow gold buckle. Accompanied by an "Extract from the Archives" and letters from Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co.

USD 30,000 - 35,000

EUR 28,000 - 32,000

C. two-body, solid, polished, case back engraved "Thomas J. Walsh", curved crystal. D. gold with over-sized radial, radium-coated Arabic numerals. "Skeleton" radium-coated blued steel hands. M. Cal. 10''', rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 18 jewels, straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance adjusted to 8 positions, blued steel Breguet balance-spring.Case and movement signed, dial signed by the retailer.Dim. 26 x 37 mm.This timepiece is very rare for two reasons. Not only is it one of Patek Philippe's earliest wristwatches produced for Tiffany & Co. in New York, but it was also most likely owned and worn by U.S. Senator Thomas J. Walsh until his death in 1933, the case of the watch is engraved in his name.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-5-01

Good

Poor

HANDS Original

Notes

Thomas J. Walsh Born in a small town in Wisconsin on June 12, 1859, he graduated in 1884 from the law department of the University of Wisconsin and went on to practice law for several years in Redfield, Dakota Territory and Helena, Montana. In 1912 he was elected as a Democrat to the US Senate and he made a name for himself as a fierce fighter against monopolies and corruption during his years in the Senate (1913-1933). Conflicts with the "Copper Kings", his efforts for a naval disarmament anthe Kellogg-Briand Pact for the "outlawry" of war during the 1920's were important steps in his career that was perhaps even more famous for his prosecution of corruption in the so-called "Teapot Dome Scandal" that rocked the Warren G. Harding Presidency in 1923-1924. (Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall profited personally from transferring oil rights to the Teapot Dome reserve in Wyoming to the Mammoth Oil Company in exchange for cash and interest-free loans.) In 1932, Thomas J. Walsh, wo presided over the Democratic National Convention that nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt for president, was appointed Attorney General in President Roosevelt's administration. On March 2, 1933, on his train trip from Florida to Washington DC where he was to be sworn into office, he died on the train near Wilson, N.C.