Exceptional Horological Works of Art

Geneva, Oct 19, 2002

LOT 141

Patek Philippe & Cie, Genève, No. 861182, case No. 674092, Ref. 2524. Production of this reference started in 1955. Very fine, rare, and important, minute-repeating, 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch with an 18K yellow gold Patek Philippe buckle. Accompanied by the Extract from the Archives.

CHF 1 - 1

EUR 1 - 1

Sold: CHF 520,500

C. three-body, solid, polished and brushed, concave faceted lugs. D. two-tone matte silver with applied gold bâton indexes and Roman numerals. Yellow gold "bâton" hands. M. 12''' RM, rhodium-plated, "fausses-côtes" decoration, 29 jewels, straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic balance adjusted for heat, cold, isochronism and 5 positions, Breguet balance-spring, repeater on gongs by means of a slide on the band. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 33 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 3*

Good

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

Notes

Similar watches are published in "Patek Philippe Genève, Wristwatches", by Martin Huber and Alan Banbery, Patek Philippe S.A., Geneva, 1998 Edition, pp. 318-319, and in "Collecting Patek Philippe Watches" by M. and O. Patrizzi, Guido Mondani Editore, Genova, 2000, pp. 314, 315, and 317. What is a Minute Repeater ? A minute-repeating watch tells the time both visually and audibly. A slide on the side of the case, usually near the 9, will activate two hammers in the movement. These hammers strike two gongs curled within the case. First one hammer strikes a gong of a lower tonality; it counts out the hours. Then both hammers strike both gongs alternately to count out the quarter hours following the hour, and then the second hammer alone, striking a gong of a higher tonality, counts out the minutes after the quarter hour. The repeating mechanism was developed by Daniel Quare. In 1687, he patented a mechanism that sounded the hours and the quarter hours. Early repeaters used bells. At the end of the 18th century, two bent-wire gongs became the more popular mechanism. In 1892, the first minute repeater wristwatch was produced by Omega, a model with a round case.