Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Hong Kong,the Ritz Carlton Hotel,harbour Room, 3rd Floor, Nov 25, 2006

LOT 178

Ref. 5050G, White Gold "Roman Dial" Patek Philippe, Genève, No. 1957976, case No. 2980858, Ref. 5050G. Made in 1995, very few examples made from 1995- 2002, sold on December 29, 2004. The first known example in white gold with a Roman numeral dial to appear at auction. Very fine and extremely rare, astronomic, center-seconds, self-winding, 18K white gold gentleman's wristwatch with perpetual calendar, retrograde date, leap year indication, moon phases and an 18K white gold Patek Philippe deployant clasp. Accompanied by a spare solid back, setting pin, Patek Philippe winding carrousel box, leather wallet, booklets and Certificate of Origin.

HKD 700,000 - 900,000

USD 90,000 - 115,000 / EUR 70,000 - 90,000

Sold: HKD 1,059,000

C. Three-body, solid, polished, concave bezel, fluted lugs, screwed-down transparent case back, sapphire crystals.
D. Brushed silver with applied white gold Roman numerals, apertures for the days of the week, the months, the moon phases and the leap year, retrograde sector for the date.
M. Cal. 315/136, stamped with the Seal of Geneva Quality Mark, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 31 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, Glucydur Gyromax balance adjusted to heat,cold, isochronism and 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating free-sprung flat balance spring, gold rotor.Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 36 mm. Thickness 11 mm.


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Grade:
Case: 1

As new

Movement: 1

As new

Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

Ref. 5050
Production of Ref. 5050 started in 1993 with the yellow gold version only. In 1995 Patek Philippe offered the full range for sale: yellow gold, white gold, pink gold, and platinum. Only one dial color, opaline gray, was available for the four different metals, but it was possible to choose between indexes or Roman numerals. However, only around 30 examples were made in pink gold, white gold and platinum with Roman numeral dials. Of the four white gold watches of this reference to appear at auction, the present watch is the only example to have a Roman numeral dial. This model was the first Patek Philippe perpetual calendar wristwatch to feature a ?retrograde date?. In 1993/1995 when the reference was first shown, this complication went largely unnoticed. It was only when the watch was discontinued in 2001/2002 that it became a sought-after complication, by then widely used by other brands. This type of perpetual with retrograde date was subsequently used on the well-known minute repeater, Ref. 5016. With the day and month visible in a small window, as well as the leap year indication, it was the successor to Ref. 3450, and like 3450, was produced in very small quantities. Information concerning the dial is given in the Certificate of Origin, as follows: Dial: silvered, Roman hours, English. Similar watches are published in ?Collecting Patek Philippe Wristwatches? by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Guido Mondani Editore, 2004, vol. II, p. 292.