Breaking News: A Steel Patek Philippe 1518 is Now Available

One of only four known examples – and the only one originally sold on a bracelet – is available in a private sale through Monaco Legend Group.

We throw around the term "the perfect watch" a lot in watch collecting. It’s become a way of saying, "This is the watch I really want," even if the chances of it happening are slim to none. Over the years, we’ve heard a range of answers to the perfect watch question - from a first-series Nautilus to a vintage Cartier Crash from the 1930s. Everyone’s list is different. But if we strip it down to the absolute top tier of watch collecting, one name comes up over and over again: the Patek Philippe 1518 in steel.

If you’re a serious collector and this watch isn’t on your list, you probably don’t know about it - or you’re not aiming high enough.

With only 281 examples made in total (across all metals), any 1518 is a rare piece. The 35mm case houses a Valjoux-based movement that was heavily modified and finished by Patek. But here’s what really sets it apart: it was the first-ever serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph. Back in the early 1940s, nothing like this existed. If you tried to find any rival, the closest would be Audemars Piguet, which made only nine perpetual calendars around the same time, but without a chronograph.

 

Source: Hodinkee

The Last Time This Happened, The Watch World Went Wild.

The last steel 1518 to hit the market was in November 2016. That watch, case number 508473, was auctioned at Phillips under the legendary Aurel Bacs and went crazy in the industry. When the hammer finally dropped, it had sold for a mind-blowing CHF 11,002,000 (about €11 million). At the time, that made it the second most expensive Patek Philippe ever sold at auction, being number two only the Henry Graves Supercomplication. In other words, it became the most expensive wristwatch from the brand ever sold.

Now, it’s happening again.

On February 4th, Monaco Legend Group announced that case number 508475(3) is available for private sale with a price north of €18 million.

If this watch sells anywhere near that, it would become the most expensive wristwatch ever sold. The man behind the sale, Davide Parmegiani (Chairman of Monaco Legend Group), knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s handled all four steel 1518s at least once, and this particular watch has already changed hands twice under his watch.

 

Source: MonacoLegendGroup

Why a Private Sale?

You might wonder why such an important watch isn’t headlining an auction. Parmegiani has an answer for that. He says it’s a difficult price to reach in an auction. Once you go over €10 million, it becomes harder. Auctions are great up to €6 or €8 million, but beyond that, it’s apparently a different game. He believes a private sale lets the buyer think about whether they truly want to own the watch.

Since the announcement, Parmegiani says his inbox has been flooded. He’s confident it won’t stay on the market long.

 

The Wild History of This Particular 1518

This exact watch has had quite the journey. Steel 1518s have always been at the top of the vintage watch food chain. Since it was discovered in the 1980s, its value has skyrocketed, passing from one collector to another.

It first surfaced in the early ‘80s on New York’s 47th Street, where it reportedly had an asking price of just $4,500 (about €4,100). Even at that price, it sat unsold for a while. Eventually, a Swiss dealer snapped it up and sold it to Luigi Calvasina, a serious collector, for a modest profit. A few years later, when the watch hit $10,000 (€9,100), Calvasina felt that was "crazy money" and sold it to Milan-based retailer Pisa Watches.

From there, things got interesting. In 1989, the watch landed at Orion, a then-new auction house, where it became the first steel 1518 to ever be sold at public auction. It fetched 1.6 million French Francs (€281,600). Just five years later, in 1995, it showed up at Antiquorum, where it failed to sell at auction, but was later sold privately for $531,869 (€485,000).

Now we have Parmegiani. He first saw the watch in 1989 and dreamed of owning it. In 2004, he finally got his chance and purchased it for around €1 million. Over the last two decades, it has remained within his circle of collectors, being sold twice.

Source: MonacoLegendGroup

The Best of the Best

There may be four steel 1518s, but this one stands out. If you’re nitpicking, the only one that comes close in condition is the one sold at Phillips in 2016. But this example is unique, it’s the only one originally sold on a bracelet, confirmed by the Extract from the Archives of Patek Philippe.

Parmegiani is making a big bet that this watch will set a record. 

And as for the asking price? Whatever price they achieve, the real winner will be the buyer. In five to eight years, this watch will be worth €45 to €50 million."

Time will tell.