This 18k white gold cased, blue dialed Patek Philippe has a manual wind calibre 23-300 18 jewel movement, and the extract from the archives.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the Extract from the Archives we can accurately date this watch to being sold on 5th December 1974.
CONDITION
The Big Three, in exclusive watch terms, are Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe. Most people put Patek at the top of this list, and auction results support this. The most expensive pocket watch ever sold at auction (at time of writing) was a Patek Philippe at £13.4m. The most expensive wrist watch ever sold at auction was a 1941 Patek Philippe 1518, which sold for $11m, beating the record of $7.3m from another Patek Philippe. This list is out of date now, but shows the brands dominance of the saleroom.
Patek Philippe launched the Golden Ellipse range in 1968, but the origins of the case shape go back to the Golden Ratio. Mathematicians have been discussing this theory of perfect shapes and spaces since at least ancient Greece. The design is still available new, with a slightly larger case and automatic movement, although you can only get the blue dial now with the platinum case, for nearly £40,000. A white gold version with a brown dial is available new for £17,000.
Unusually this Ellipse has lugs. This not only increases your choice of strap, but also makes the watch wear larger on the wrist that the dimensions suggest. Maybe those mathematicians did know something? The 18k white gold case is matched by the 18k Patek Phillippe buckle, that so mimics the case design in its shape. The buckle is fitted to a used Patek Philippe strap. At just 6mm thick this time only watch slips under cuffs with ease, and is supremely comfortable to wear. The manual wind movement is an utter joy to use, connecting the wearer to the movement in a way that automatic watches just don’t. The movement was serviced by Patek Philippe in 2014, at the price of CHF 1328 (approximately £1,100). The sapphire glass was replaced at this service and the hallmarked case repolished to the original finish. The dial, with the white gold applied markers, is excellent, if a little difficult to photograph!
The watch is signed on the dial, case, movement, crown and buckle.
This watch will be supplied with a unsigned presentation box, Patek Philippe’s Extract from the Archives and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video below for more detail.
SIZE
Width with crown 28.2 mm
Width without crown 26.9 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 34.7 mm
Bracelet maximum length n/a
Thickness 6.1 mm
All sizes are approximate
PRICE
£SOLD including 6 months guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us.
