PATEK PHILIPPE OR THE ART OF GRAND COMPLICATION
The history of Patek Philippe began in 1839, when Antoine Norbert de Patek founded the company in Geneva. But it was in France in 1844 that the Patek Philippe watchmaking company was truly born. During the Paris National Exhibition, Antoine Norbert de Patek discovered a talented French watchmaker: Jean Adrien Philippe. Together they were to co-write one of the finest chapters in watchmaking. The following year, the two watchmakers joined forces and filed their first patent to protect the discovery of the winding crown, one of the most innovative inventions of the 19th century.
The art of the perpetual calendar
The perpetual calendar has been part of Patek Philippe's history since the beginning. In 1889, the research and genius of Jean Adrien Philippe led to the modern conception of the perpetual calendar mechanism. Patek Philippe holds Swiss patent no. 1018 for this invention. In 1925, the world's first wristwatch with a perpetual calendar was created, and of course it was signed by Patek Philippe.
This great first will establish the Manufacture as a leading specialist in complications for wristwatches. Among the complications developed by Patek Philippe, the perpetual calendar remains the most evocative and emblematic of the brand. But it is also the complication that fascinates collectors and watch enthusiasts alike. How can one resist the magic of a watch that instantly shows its owner the complete calendar with the days of the week, the date, the months and phases of the moon, taking into account the leap years of the Gregorian calendar. It is impossible not to give in to the temptation of such an ingenious mechanism, which moreover does not require any adjustment for 100 years!
The Roaring Twenties were the golden age of the perpetual calendar. From the 1930s until the end of the 1970s, Patek Philippe was one of the few manufacturers to mass-produce these highly complicated wristwatches. Like the minute repeater or the world time, the perpetual calendar is one of the most noble complications in watchmaking. Only a few years after its foundation, Patek Philippe began to develop its first chronographs.
Since its beginnings in 1839, the Manufacture has used this complication on numerous watches, most of which are now highly sought-after pieces by collectors. In 1923, the first Patek Philippe wrist chronograph with split-seconds function was created. Around 1927, the production of this complication was launched through emblematic models, such as the chronograph with a tonneau case shape which inspired the reference 5950 produced from 2010. It was in the 1930s that the Patek Philippe wrist chronograph became an essential watchmaking icon, notably with the launch of the Ref. 130. Its movement is based on the Valjoux calibre 23VZ, which was used for all the Manufacture's chronographs until 1985. The models after 1985 are equipped with a more powerful calibre, the CH 27-70. Based on the Lémania movement, this new movement became the benchmark for fine chronographs until the early 2010s. In 2009, Patek Philippe created a surprise at the reopening of the Place Vendôme salons in Paris by presenting its very first chronograph movement: the CH 29-535 PS calibre. This "in-house" calibre combines six patented technical innovations and bears the Patek Philippe hallmark, the brand's label of excellence. In 2011, the brand introduces its first chronograph equipped with the famous calibre 29-535, which is the basis of the movement of the reference 5270, like our example. This new chronograph calibre embodies Patek Philippe excellence better than any other.
Reference 5270, the innovation of a "House" movement
The reference 5270 is the first chronograph with perpetual calendar equipped with a movement entirely designed and developed by Patek Philippe (until then, all previous models were based on a Valjoux or Lémania calibre). In production since 2011, the ref. 5270 has undergone several evolutions since its launch. The second generation watches were first produced in white gold and then in yellow gold. The model is available with a grey opaline dial or, for the first time, with a radiant blue dial with a "Chin" at 6 o'clock. This new version is equipped with a tachymeter scale and it is precisely this famous graduation that makes the second generation watches a particularly attractive collector's item. Surprisingly, at 6 o'clock, the linearity of the scale is broken to match the shape of the sub-dial indicating the date and the phases of the moon. But this break in the codes of traditional watchmaking surprised some collectors at its launch. As often, in the field of collection, it is the small details that make the great objects, so the "Chin" dial with the tachymeter scale unhooked at 6 o'clock makes this watch a collector's model.
5270G-014 "Chin", an exceptional collector's watch
In April 2014, the year of its 175th anniversary, Patek Philippe launched the reference 5270G-014, which was marketed for barely two years. Revealed for the very first time to the general public at the Baselworld international watch fair, this reference was immediately the object of covetousness on the part of collectors, our example being one of the first watches delivered to Patek Philippe shows.
Patek Philippe
Ref. 5270G - 014
Movement No. 5762135
Case No. 4680544
Chronograph bracelet in 18k (750) white gold with perpetual calendar and moon phases, day/night mode. Round case, correctors on the case middle, stylized handles, transparent screwed case back. Sunray blue dial, applied "baton" indexes, day of the week and month indications at 12 o'clock, 2 counters for the 30 minutes and seconds indications, a sub-dial at 6 o'clock for the date indication and moon phases opening, double opening for the leap year indication in red at 5 o'clock and day/night mode at 7 o'clock, railroad minute track with 1/5th of a second graduation, tachymeter graduation Mechanical movement, cal. CH 29 - 535 PS Q, 33 jewels, adjusted to 8 positions and isochronism, stamped with the Patek Philippe "PP" hallmark. Strap with folding clasp in 18k (750) white gold signed.
Diam. 41 mm - Poids brut: 114.2gr
With: a case, an on box, a certificate of origin dated 26 June 2014, Salons Patek Philippe Genève, a solid 18k white gold caseback, several booklets and an instruction manual in a signed brown pouch.
Estimate: €100,000 - €150,000
The Patek Philipppe Museum
For Patek Philippe, "true innovation is distinguished by its usefulness and durability," and so for more than 20 years the brand has been an institution with the opening of its own museum in 2001. The Patek Philippe Museum is not only an exhibition space, it is also a place dedicated to research, the study of the evolution of European watchmaking, and the transmission of the watchmaker's know-how. This unique approach underlines the avant-garde nature of Patek Philippe.
The Patek Philippe hallmark
Excellence is certainly what best defines Patek Philippe quality. Since the beginning, the manufacture has always been committed to delivering timepieces of perfect quality to its customers. For a long time, the brand used the Poinçon de Genève certification to attest the quality of its watches. But in March 2009, after four years of study and reflection, Patek Philippe announced the creation of its own label: the Patek Philippe hallmark. Replacing the Geneva Seal, a guarantee of quality, craftsmanship and precision reserved for the most prestigious watchmakers in the canton of Geneva, this new seal becomes the guarantee of Patek Philippe quality.
COLLECTOR'S WATCHES
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Auction ends on 29 March 2023, from 5pm
Head of the Collector's Watch Department
Philippine Dupré la Tour
+33 1 41 92 06 42 • duprelatour@aguttes.com