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 built its name on precision timekeeping and fine finishing. The reference 600, introduced in 1933 and made for more than three decades, is a solid gold open-face watch signed on dial, movement and case.
Struck with the Geneva seal
The Object
A Patek Philippe reference 600 in solid 18ct gold, signed three times over: on the dial, across the movement and inside the case. A plain open-face design with a Geneva-sealed caliber 17-140 behind the dial.
This reference 600 was made around 1953 and finished throughout to Patek Philippe's full standard.
The case is solid 18ct gold, 41.55mm, with a slim polished bezel and an unbroken back. The back was never engraved, so the lines of the case are as they left Geneva. The gold carries only the even, light patina of careful handling and has not been polished.
The dial is the heart of it. Silvered and satin-finished, it carries applied faceted gold baton markers, doubled at twelve, faceted gold dauphine hands, a dot minute track, and a subsidiary seconds dial sunk at six with its centre engine-turned in fine circles, the signature set out in fine, restrained printing: Patek Philippe, Genève, beneath twelve. The hands are original to the watch. The dial is original and unrestored, free of hairlines, with light scattered spotting, mostly towards the edge.
Behind the dial the restraint gives way entirely. The caliber 17-140 is a full Patek movement of eighteen jewels, adjusted to five positions and struck with the Geneva seal, finished to a level that owes nothing to the simplicity of the watch's face. It runs, winds and sets precisely as it should.
The marks, the movement and the condition are set out in the drawers below.
Room III · The Dial
Reading the dial · tap a number
- 1Patek Philippe, GenèveThe signature set out in fine, restrained printing beneath twelve.
- 2Applied gold batonsApplied gold baton markers, all intact.
- 3Gold dauphine handsFaceted gold dauphine hands, original to the watch.
- 4Sunk seconds at sixA subsidiary seconds dial sunk at six.
- 5Silvered satinSilvered and satin-finished, original and unrestored, free of hairlines, with light scattered spotting.
- 6Slim polished bezelSolid 18ct gold, 41.55mm, unpolished, with only the light patina of careful handling.
Beneath the case
Open each drawer to look closer
Mark 1
Helvetia head, casemaker's mark, reference and case number
The Swiss assay office guarantee of 0.750 gold, struck inside the case back beside the fineness mark, with the key mark identifying the Geneva maker who cased the watch, and reference 600 and case number 690172, struck crisply inside the back.
gold
assay
case
reference
Part A
Signature
Signed Patek Philippe & Co, Genève across the bridge.
Part B
Jewelling and adjustment
Eighteen jewels, adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and five positions.
Part C
Geneva seal
Struck with the Poinçon de Genève, Geneva's mark of finishing and quality.
Part D
Balance and regulator
Cut bimetallic compensation balance with a regulator index on a graduated slow/fast scale and wolf's-tooth winding.
Case
Excellent
Solid 18ct gold, crisp hallmarks, plain back never engraved; only light even handling wear, not polished.
Dial
Very good
Original silvered satin dial, applied gold baton markers and original gold dauphine hands; no hairlines, chips or restoration; light scattered spotting, mainly towards the edge.
Movement
Excellent
Caliber 17-140, 18 jewels, adjusted to five positions, Geneva seal; winds, sets and keeps good time.
Crystal
Excellent
Original, no chips or crazing.
Crown
Excellent
Original, winds and sets cleanly.
41.55
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
Signed three times, and numbered.
The watch is signed Patek Philippe on the dial, Patek Philippe & Co, Genève across the movement, and Patek Philippe & Co, Genève inside the case back. The movement is numbered 892173 and the case 690172, with the reference 600 struck inside the back alongside the 0.750 gold standard, the Helvetia assay head and the Geneva casemaker's mark. The movement number places it around 1953, shortly after an archive-dated example, movement 892027, made in 1953. An Extract from the Patek Philippe Archives can be ordered against the movement number to confirm the exact dates of manufacture and sale.
- Maker
- Patek Philippe
- Model
- Reference 600
- Case material
- 18ct gold (0.750)
- Diameter
- 41.55mm
- Case style
- Open face
- Dial
- Silvered satin, applied faceted gold baton markers (doubled at 12), faceted gold dauphine hands, dot minute track, sunk sub-seconds with engine-turned centre
- Movement
- Manual winding, caliber 17-140, Swiss lever
- Jewels
- 18
- Adjustment
- Heat, cold, isochronism and five positions
- Geneva seal
- Yes
- Complication
- Subsidiary seconds
- Movement no.
- 892173
- Case no.
- 690172
- Hallmarks
- 0.750, Helvetia head, Geneva casemaker's mark
- Country
- Switzerland
- Year
- C.1953
The Estate Collection
Room V · Acquisition
€13.000
We’d love to discuss our passion for this piece with you.
Patek Philippe
€13.000
Enquiry
Reference 600
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