Patek Philippe, 1886, no.66.090, retailed by N.Matson & Co., Chicago; a rare and fine pink gold split seconds chronograph watch with regulator dial

18k, damascened nickel lever movement, bi-metallic compensation balance, gold cuvette engraved "Made for N.Matson & Co., Chicago by Patek Philippe", white enamel dial, outer constant minutes/chronograph seconds track, two subsidiary dials for hours and subsidiary seconds, plain polished pink gold case, chronograph stop slide and split pusher in the band, case, dial and movement signed.

This watch features an especially unusual regulator type dial. Regulator dials were made to aid the timing of events, for example horse races or train speed calculation. By removing the hours to a subsidiary dial, the chronograph seconds track is made visibly clearer and is therefore easier to read than a conventional chronograph dial. Thus far, only 13 split second chronographs are publicly known with regulator type dials, three of these are in hunting cases.

66.088 and 66.090, both split seconds chronographs, were supplied to N.Matson & Co. in Chicago. It is most interesting to note that the present watch features movement 66.088 and yet bears the case of 66.090; the cases and movements were presumably inadvertently switched at Matson's before their original sale in 1886. Number 66.089 is also known and this piece bears the same features as 66.090 and 66.088; therefore at least three similar watches were originally made a small series.

To the best of our knowledge, this watch has never before been offered at public auction.