Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Hong Kong, Oct 25, 2015

LOT 289

PATEK PHILIPPE REF. 5125 FOR WEMPE PINK GOLD Patek Philippe, Genève, retailed by Wempe, No. 045 / 125, No. 3360470, case No. 4213653, Ref. 5125R. Made in a limited edition of 125 pieces in 2003 to commemorate Wempe's 125th Anniversary. Sold on August 5th, 2003. Very fine and very rare, center seconds, self-winding, water- resistant 18K pink gold wristwatch with semi- instantaneous digital triple date annual calendar, moon phases, 24-hour indication and an 18K pink gold Patek Philippe deployant clasp. Accompanied by extract of archives and the warranty of wempe(blank).

HKD 280,000 - 360,000

USD 36,000 - 46,000 / CHF 35,000 - 45,000

Sold: HKD 300,000

Three-body, solid, polished, screwed-down case back and crown, protected winding crown, concave lugs, sapphire crystals. Matte silver with applied pink gold baton indexes, subsidiary dial for the 24 hours, apertures for the date, the days of the week, the months and the moon phases, outer dot division. Pink gold dauphine hands. Cal. 315-203, stamped with the Seal of Geneva quality mark, rhodium-plated, fausses cotes decoration, 35 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, free-sprung Gyromax balance adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring, 21K gold rotor.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2-8

Very good

Slightly scratched
Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

Dial, case and movement signed, dial also signed "Wempe." DIAM. 37 mm. THICKNESS 11 mm. WEMPE`S "125TH ANNIVERSARY" WATCH was made in a limited edition in various metals, as follows: - 125 examples in 18K yellow gold - 125 examples in 18K white gold - 125 examples in 18K pink gold - 100 examples in platinum. In 1878, with 80 Marks in his pocket, young watchmaker GERHARD D. WEMPE opened a watch and jewelry business in his aunt Caroline's house in the small German town of Elsfleth close to Bremen. Business went well for the young entrepreneur and in the years to come he moved his venture to Oldenburg and finally to Hamburg, where he established the "Stammhaus" or "flagship store" of the company in 1907. In 1914 Wempe had opened 4 more stores in Hamburg, but with World War I sales dropped considerably. When Gerhard D. Wempe died in 1921, his son Herbert took over, concentrating on exclusive connections to Swiss watch brands like Omega and Longines and further extending the business, buying in 1938 the famous "Hamburger Chronometer Werke" factory, an important manufacturer of ships' chronometers still in existence today, producing high precision nautical instruments. World War II again brought personal and professional difficulties. In 1945 the company's management was handed over to a trustee, and in 1951, Helmut, the 19 year-old son, had to take over the business. By 1953 Wempe again had 5 stores in Hamburg, and by the 1960's there were stores in several German cities as well. In 1980 Wempe entered the international scene with the opening of its US flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue, followed by stores in Paris, Vienna, London and Madrid. Since 2003 daughter Kim-Eva Wempe, who joined the company in 1987, officially heads it. Wempe is Germany's most respected watch and jewelry retailer with over 500 employees and 26 branches worldwide, also operating in Hamburg the largest watch repair and service facility of any European retailer.