Patek Philippe
A RARE AND HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT TROPICAL HARDWOOD AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL WATCH BOX MADE FOR HENRY GRAVES JR. WITH ASSOCIATED CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN CIRCA 1926
LOT SOLD.
30,625 USD
Details & Cataloguing
Watches from the Collection of the Late Reginald H. Fullerton, Jr. and his Grandfather Henry Graves Jr.
|
New York
New York
Patek Philippe
A RARE AND HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT TROPICAL HARDWOOD AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL WATCH BOX MADE FOR HENRY GRAVES JR. WITH ASSOCIATED CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN CIRCA 1926
• tropical hardwood hinged presentation box inlaid with ebony border, mother-of-pearl inlaid presentation plaque depicting the Graves coat-of-arms • silk Patek Philippe logo panel • further accompanied by glass replacement crystal and replacement platinum Breguet hands for No. 198015 • further accompanied by certificate of origin for No. 198025
length 17 cm
Read Condition Report
Read Condition Report
length 17 cm
Catalogue Note
Hidden from the public's view and knowledge for decades, this box was found with the original certificate of origin concealed behind its silk panel for No. 198025. This certificate confirms the historical existence of a watch that redefines the scholarship of Graves' collecting in the 1920s as well as the scope of Patek Philippe's early sky chart production.
The original certificate for No. 198025 describes the watch as "chronometrically adjusted perpetual calendar, phases of the moon, sunrise, sunset, mean time, true time, winding indicator, and celestial chart". This 18k open face watch with 24 ligne movement is only known through archive images and, to the best of our knowledge, has not surfaced for decades.
James Ward Packard received delivery of a watch with a star chart calibrated for Warren, OH in 1927 (No. 198023). Previously recognized as the only sky chart watch made and delivered by Patek Philippe in 1920s, it is now known that the watch made for Graves represents a second sky chart made and delivered in the late 1920s. Unlike the Packard version, the Graves watch features a massive sky chart in full enamel depicting the celestial canopy as seen from New York City on the entire reverse side of the watch. Received during the same year that Graves ordered the Supercomplication (No. 198385), this watch can be considered the inspiration for arguably the most important watches ever made.
Hidden below the fitted velvet panel of the presently offered box was a spare crystal and platinum replacement hands for No. 198015. Based on the 52 mm size that the fitted case can accommodate, this box was most likely intended for one of the platinum Observatory competition watches that Graves obsessively collected in the 1920s and 1930s. Like the Sky Chart 'Mystery Watch' No. 198025, the whereabouts of No. 198015 is unknown.
Suggested Lots
Watches from the Collection of the Late Reginald H. Fullerton, Jr. and his Grandfather Henry Graves Jr.
|
New York
New York
