- 161
Patek Philippe & Co., Genève
Description
- Patek Philippe & Co., Genève
- diameter 38mm.
Catalogue Note
The Perpetual Calendar
The perpetual calendar is one of the most complex movements produced only by the finest watch houses. Requiring the skill of highly trained watchmakers, the perpetual calendar wristwatch is designed to accurately tell the day, date and month regardless of leap years or the number of days in a month. In 1925, Patek Philippe produced the first perpetual calendar in wristwatch history. Very few perpetual calendars were made before the introduction of reference 1518, which was the first perpetual calendar wristwatch to be made in series. At the Basel fair in 1958 it was said:
“the wristwatch with an everlasting calendar, which shows the date completely accurately without manual assistance, regardless of whether the months have 28, 29, 30 or 31 days, is presented by Patek Philippe as an exclusive item?lt;/I>
Hölscher
It is very unusual to find the retailer's name Hölscher on the dial of Patek Philippe wristwatches. Hölscher were, for many years, a fine jewellery and watch boutique based on the famous Hohe Strasse in Cologne. A highly respected firm, they ceased trading at the end of the last century.
Reference 2438-1
One of the rarest Patek Philippe complication references, 2438-1 was produced in conjunction with reference 2497 between 1951 and 1963. According to the archives of Patek Philippe, total production of both references ran to only 179 pieces. To date no division has been made to determine how many examples of 2438-1 and 2497 make up the 179 watches. However, due to the greater rarity of reference 2438-1, it is understood that the majority of these were reference 2497. It is interesting to note that even the combined total of 179 pieces is less than the production run of many other vintage perpetual calendars including references 1518, 1526, 2499, 3448 and 3450.
The major differences between references 2497 and 2438-1 lie in the water-resistant two-piece case of the 2438-1. Reference 2497 has a three-piece case with snap back and bezel that are not impervious to water, whilst the 2438-1 has a two-piece case with water-resistant type screw-down back. Water-resistant cased perpetual calendars by Patek Philippe are exceptionally rare. In fact, prior to the introduction of reference 3970 in 1986, only two references bearing such cases were made by Patek Philippe (2438-1 and 1591.) Reference 1591 was made in only 2 examples: one in steel sold Sotheby’s, London, October 1996, lot 161; the other in yellow gold sold Phillips, November 12th 2001, lot 155. Both these reference 1591 wristwatches feature silvered dials.
Dating to 1954, the present watch is one of the earliest examples of reference 2438-1 to appear at auction. The 2497/2438-1 movement series began with 888.000 and ended with 888.178. However, the earliest known 2438-1 to appear at auction bore movement number 888.101, the present lot is 888.104. It should be noted that coloured dials on complication Patek Philippe watches are found very rarely. In fact, extensive research has failed to find any examples of the reference 2438-1 with anything other than a silvered dial. Furthermore, no examples of reference 2497 are publicly known with a black dial. It is of interest that, of other Patek Philippe complication wristwatches from the same period, only two examples of reference 2499 are known with a black dial, possibly just one reference 1526 and no reference 1518 with black dial has appeared. Another unusual characteristic of the present dial are the luminescent numerals which are extremely rare to find on complication Patek Philippe wristwatches. Luminescent paint applied directly to dials can affect the finish of the surface. Here, however, Patek Philippe have used their highest quality luminescent numerals and the paint is held within the gold numerals which thereby protect the dial surface.
The following table groups together examples of the reference 2438-1 that have been offered for sale at auction and includes all pieces found during research for this catalogue.
Movement
Case
Description
Date
888.101
687.965
Yellow gold, silvered dial, applied arabic and disc numerals.
Sotheby’s Geneva, 14th May 1991, lot 444
1954
888.104
687.969
Black dial, luminescent baton numerals and hands.
PRESENT LOT
1954
888.113
687.978
Pink gold, silvered dial, baton numerals ?luminous dots below the numerals, luminous hands.
Patrizzi, Orologio da Polso Patek Philippe, Third Edition, p.304, pl.480E; Antiquorum Geneva, 1st November 1998, lot 465.
1954
888.139
2.602.739
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Antiquorum Tokyo, 17th December 1989, lot 504.
1955
888.145
2.602.745
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Patrizzi, Collecting Patek Philippe Watches, p.249, pl.480
1955
888.146
2.602.746
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Antiquorum Basel, 21st April 1990, lot 468.
1955
888.147
2.602.747
Yellow gold, silvered dial, Breguet numerals.
Sotheby’s New York, 20th June 1991, lot 396.
1955
888.154
Not Noted
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Auktionen: Dr.H.Crott & K.Schmelzer, Frankfurt, 5th December 1987, Lot 224.
Circa 1955
888.157
2.619.196
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Huber, Banbery, Patek Philippe Wristwatches, p.284, plate 441a-c; Antiquorum Hong Kong, 23 May 1988, lot 161; Antiquorum Geneva, 23rd April 1995, lot 1995.
1955
888.158
2.619.197
Yellow gold, silvered dial, applied baton numerals.
Antiquorum St. Moritz, 25th February 1990, lot 128.
1959
888.172
2.619.211
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Antiquorum Geneva, April, 13th, 14th 2002, lot 599.
CIRCA 1959
888.173
2.619.212
Pink gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Sotheby’s New York, October 30th, 1995, lot 228;
Phillips Geneva, Nov.12th 2001, lot 144; Antiquorum Geneva, October 11th, 12th 2003, lot 578.
1959
888.175
Not noted
Yellow gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Negretti, De Vecchi, Patek Philippe, p.144-145; De Vecchi, P., Gregato, G., Patek Philippe Orologi Complicati da Polso, 1997, pp.140-141.
1959
888.177
Not noted
Pink gold, silvered dial, baton numerals.
Sotheby’s New York, February 21st, 2001, lot 148.
Circa 1959
It is interesting to note that the production of reference 2438-1 seems to have occurred, primarily, and perhaps exclusively, in the years 1954, 1955 and 1959. If one looks at the table above, the three examples listed from 1954 may belong to the first production series of the reference. Interestingly, the earliest number (888.101) was manufactured with the standard ref.2497 arabic and disc numeral dial. As the present watch (888.104) is so early in production of the reference 2438-1, it may be that the dial was either experimental or a special order. The next known reference 2438-1, no.888113, is the first to have appeared at auction with the standard 2438-1 silvered baton numeral dial. Also of interest is the fact that the case numbers for the first and earliest three 2438-1 watches shown in the table are very different from the remaining watches in the table.
In conclusion, it seems certain that the present lot is the only example of a reference 2438-1 to have been offered with a black dial, the only with luminescent baton numerals and is most probably unique. This combination of factors make the present lot one of the rarest and most important complication wristwatches ever to appear at auction.