Similar watches are published in "Patek Philippe Wristwatches", by Martin Huber and Alan Banbery, 1998, p. 273-274.Ref. 1436Split-seconds chronograph wristwatches were "the must" of Patek Philippe technology and after 1938 were generally cased with this reference. The majority are in yellow gold. Rarely are they in pink gold, and only three stainless steel examples are known, two of which were sold by Antiquorum Geneva on April 10, 1994, lot 431 and on April 23 1995, lot 457.In the mid-1950's some were produced with a coaxial button on the winding-crown for the split-seconds functions (stop and reunite).What is a split-seconds chronograph ?The split-seconds chronograph, in its present form, was first introduced in 1880. A split-seconds chronograph rattrapante is a type of chronograph watch with two superimposed coaxial center-seconds hands that are controlled by two push-buttons.One push-button controls the split-seconds hand to stop or join the chronograph hand. The other pushbuttons control both the hands and all of the functions of the chronograph. The two hands, the chronograph hand and the split-seconds hand are used for timing events that begin simultaneously but are of different durations. To operate the split-seconds chronograph, both hands are started and remain superimposed. Then at the end of the first event, the split-seconds hand can be stopped while the chonograph hand continues to move. The duration of the first event can be read. After recording, the split-seconds hand can be released in order to instantly join the chronograph hand, thus being ready for another recording. At the end of each event the hands can be stopped and then returned to zero.