Patek Philippe & Co., Genève

Combining a minute repeater with a split seconds chronograph represented one of the great technical challenges of late 19th century watchmaking. Both complications require considerable mechanical complexity, and their combination was reserved for some of the most sophisticated watches of the period.

Manufactured in 1893, the present watch is an impressive example of Patek Philippe’s complicated pocket watch production. Its substantial 18k pink gold case houses an 18 ligne movement combining a minute repeater with a split seconds chronograph. The chronograph mechanism is beautifully displayed across the back of the movement, while the split seconds mechanism is concealed beneath the dial, an architecture conceived specifically to accommodate this combination of complications.

The white enamel dial is remarkably restrained in contrast to the complexity within, with Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds and an outer 1/5 seconds track. The pink gold case is equally distinctive, its back decorated with an elaborate monogram.

According to the accompanying Extracts from the Archives, the watch was manufactured in 1893 and sold on 14 June 1894. The cuvette is engraved “M.C.L. to D.J.L. June 1894”, a wonderfully personal detail that corresponds precisely with the month and year of its original sale.

Bringing together two of the most demanding complications of its era within an elegant and highly personal watch, the present example beautifully illustrates the sophistication of Patek Philippe’s complicated watchmaking at the end of the 19th century.