I · The Maker/II · The Object/III · The Dial/IV · The Record/V · Acquisition
Room I · The Maker
Patek Philippe was founded in Geneva in 1839, and by the 1930s made pocket watches in every grade from plain open faces to grand complications. In 1932 the Stern family took control of the firm, and in 1937 sent Henri Stern to New York to run its American distribution, the market this watch was made for.
Eighteen jewels, adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and five positions
The Object
A Patek Philippe of about 1937 in 18-carat gold, its original silvered dial carrying applied Breguet numerals that have each toned to their own colour, with a movement made for the American market and engraved with the US import code PXP.
By the late 1930s Patek Philippe had been making pocket watches in Geneva for nearly a century. This is an open face of 43.9mm in 18 carat gold, made around 1937 to the maker's full standard, with nothing on the dial beyond hours, minutes and a subsidiary seconds.
The dial is original silvered metal with a subsidiary seconds register at six and a minute track of small raised dots. The numerals are applied Breguet style Arabic figures, and the gold hands match them, each drawn to a fine point with an open ring near the tip. The gilt of the numerals has oxidised over ninety years, and not evenly: each figure has taken its own colour, copper on the three, sea green on the four, a faint violet sheen on the nine. Nothing here has been repainted or replaced.
The crystal is clear, the crown winds and sets correctly, and the movement runs.
The marks, the movement and the condition are set out piece by piece in the drawers below; the PXP code and how to request an Extract from the Archives are set out in The Record.
Room III · The Dial
Reading the dial · tap a number
- 1Patek, Philippe & CieSigned Patek, Philippe & Cie, Genève.
- 2Toned gilt numeralsGilt Breguet-style Arabic numerals, each individually toned with age, copper to sea-green to violet.
- 3Breguet handsMatching Breguet hands with open-ring tips.
- 4Raised dot trackA raised dot minute track.
- 5Sub-seconds at sixA subsidiary seconds register at six.
- 6Original silvered dialOriginal and unrestored, the numerals toned by age.
- 743.9mm in 18ct goldAn open face of 43.9mm in 18 carat gold.
Beneath the case
Open each drawer to look closer
Mark 1
18ct Gold Mark, case serial 504645
The Helvetia head, the Swiss assay mark for 18ct gold, with the 18K 0,750 cartouche and the individual case number stamped inside the caseback.
Mark 2
PXP Import Code
PXP, the code Patek Philippe used on movements for the American market, engraved on the movement.
- ACalibreManual-wind lever movement with 18 jewels, a cut bimetallic balance and Breguet overcoil.
- BAdjustmentAdjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and five positions.
- CSerial NumberMovement serial 880012, datable to approximately 1937.
- DSub-SecondsSubsidiary seconds register at six o’clock driven from the fourth wheel.
Case
Very good
Light wear and test marks consistent with age; no dents or deep scratches. Hallmarks clearly legible.
Dial
Very good
Original silvered dial with applied Breguet numerals, unrestored; light surface marks and a few small specks, the numerals individually toned with age.
Crystal
Excellent
Clear, no cracks or chips.
Movement
Excellent
18-jewel manual wind with the PXP import code, running correctly; winds smoothly and sets correctly.
43.87
This watch
25.75
€2 coin
A €2 coin is 25.75 mm. This case is more than two and a half times its area.
Room IV · The Record
Made for the American market
The movement is engraved with its jewel count and adjustments in words and figures, the form required for watches imported into the United States, and carries PXP, the code Patek Philippe used on movements for the American market. Movement 880012 and case 504645 are consistent with production around 1937. An Extract from the Archives can be requested from Patek Philippe to document the original production records of movement and case.
- Maker
- Patek Philippe
- Model
- Open Face
- Case
- 18-carat solid gold (open face)
- Diameter
- 43.87mm
- Case serial
- 504645
- Movement serial
- 880012
- Movement type
- Manual wind lever
- Movement jewels
- 18
- Adjustment
- Heat, cold, isochronism and five positions
- Complications
- Sub-seconds
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Hallmarks
- Helvetia head 18ct mark, 18K 0,750, Patek, Philippe & Co Geneve; PXP import code on movement
- Estimated date
- C.1937
- Box/Papers
- None
The Estate Collection
Room V · Acquisition
€13.000
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Patek Philippe
€13.000
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Open Face in 18ct Gold
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