The 1940s were a remarkably fertile period at Patek Philippe. As the Second World War raged, the elite Swiss watchmaker debuted the ref. 1526 perpetual calendar and the ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, the world’s first serially-produced wristwatch featuring that particular combination of complications. It would take decades before the broader watch industry was able to catch up to Patek and offer similar products.
The Best Tourbillon Watches
Once a practical complication for pocket watches, the tourbillon has evolved into a demonstration of high-end savoir-faireThough it was serially produced, the 1518 was still made in incredibly small numbers — just 281 pieces are known, most of which are made of yellow or rose gold. Only four examples are known in stainless steel, and this rarity has driven incredible hammer prices: Phillips sold one of these in 2016 for a shade more than $11 million in Geneva. And if you thought that was a lot of cash for a small steel wristwatch, then get this: The same watch sold a few days ago at Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction for nearly $18 million, making it the most expensive vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch ever sold at auction.
This wasn’t the only record broken this weekend. Phillips moved a further ~$65 million in watches, making its sale the highest total for any watch auction ever. All 207 lots offered were sold, including a pink-on-pink ref. 1518 CHF 3,569,000 and a 1967 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Paul Newman” ref. 6239 in 18k yellow gold with a champagne dial for CHF 1,079,500, grossing the auction house a total of $83,018,538.
All of which sets the stage for the The New York Watch Auction: XIII on December 6 and 7, which will feature one of the season’s most important lots. Francis Ford Coppola, seeking to recoup significant losses on his monumental self-financed film Megalopolis, is auctioning off his unique F.P. Journe FCC prototype. Conceptualized by the famed director and produced by François-Paul Journe, it features a special historically-informed display in which a human-like hand indicates the time via moving finger digits. (Though Journe makes several examples per year for top clients, Coppola’s prototype is inscribed with his name and carries an estimate in excess of $1 million.)
In addition to the FCC prototype, Phillips is also offering a Rolex ref. 8171 “Padellone,” which carries an estimate of $250,000 to $500,000. Dating to the early 1950s and consigned by the family of the original owner, this complicated steel wristwatch stems from an era in which Rolex dabbled with complete calendar complications — i.e. one that displays the day, date, month and phase of the moon. The Crown rather quickly stopped producing such complications, making watches such as the 8171 and ref. 6062 exceedingly rare. (If you prefer your triple-calendar watches with chronographs, there’s also a ref. 6036 Dato-Compax “Jean-Claude Killy” on offer with an estimate of $120,000 to $240,000.)
Having sold Paul Newman’s famed Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6239 in 2017 for $17,752,500, Phillips continues to impress with a continuous stream of highly-desirable pieces. As the first auction house to exceed $200 million in annual watch sales for four consecutive years, its team — led by the indefatigable Aurel Bacs and his wife Livia Russo — is on a decade-long roll that appears to only be gaining momentum.
More Like This
This article appeared in an InsideHook newsletter. Sign up for free to get more on travel, wellness, style, drinking, and culture.