Patek Philippe Chronograph

Now is actively going on season of auction. An unknown specimen from the rare series of Patek Philippe chronographs will be auctioned at Sotheby's in New York in June.

 

What's so special about the Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 "Pink on Pink" watch valued at $4.5 million?

On June 9th, Sotheby's watch auction in New York will feature one of these "unicorns" - the Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 chronograph from 1947 with a rare combination of a rose gold case and a rose dial.

The model itself has long been known on the collectors' watch market. There are only 281 such chronographs in the world, 58 of them in a rose gold case. This specimen is extremely rare. Until now, only 14 such models were known (this model is the 15th). Only 10 of them have ever been put up for sale. Estimate price - $2.5 million - $4.5 million.

The last time a similar model was exhibited at an auction was in December 2021. Then, a specimen belonging to the second cousin of the last king of Egypt was sold for $9.57 million, which was more than 4 times higher than the upper limit of the estimate.

Another detail that may affect the final price of the watch at auction is the inscription Patek Philippe & Co on the dial. The old company name was abbreviated to Patek Philippe in 1948, i.e. a year after the sale of this specimen. Therefore, these are some of the last watches with such an inscription. And if we specifically talk about Ref. 1518 "Pink on Pink" models, only 7 out of 15 specimens have such an inscription.The salmon-toned dial made of rose gold was manufactured by the Geneva-based Stern Frères manufactory.

The Emile Vichet case was produced from 1946 to 1953. Details such as the tapered lugs, a large winding crown, and low-placed buttons indicate that the 35-millimeter case of this model was produced at the beginning of the production cycle.

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Credits to Sothebys