Hodinkee
Recommended Reading: The New Yorker On The Whereabouts Of John Lennon's Stolen Patek Philippe 2499
Another chapter in the ongoing saga of Lennon's elusive 2499.
1,212 articles · 12 videos found · page 13 of 41
Wristshot gallery from the Horlogeforum Patek Philippe thread.
Why Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin sit alone at the top of the hierarchy. A buyer's guide to the most-cited label in collecting.
The 1932 Patek reference that set the template for every modern dress watch.
Gérald Genta's 1976 Patek sports watch. Sketched on a restaurant napkin at Baselworld 1974.
Hodinkee
Another chapter in the ongoing saga of Lennon's elusive 2499.
Hodinkee
Up close and way too personal with three Patek 1463 chronographs to discuss condition.
SJX Watches
Sotheby’s has just announced that Sam Hines will be Chairman of Watches, the top job in the watch and clock department, starting end June 2024. Mr Hines (pictured above left) will be based in Hong Kong, where he has lived for over a decade. Having been expected by the industry for several months, Mr Hines’ new role sees him to return to a traditional auction house four years after he left Sotheby’s to join online auctioneer Loupe This. Mr Hines was also a freelance consultant during that time and continued to work with Sotheby’s. He was instrumental in securing several high-profile timepieces for the auction house, including the Patek Philippe ref. 2526 with movement number 760’000 that once belonged to J.B. Champion and sold for over US$731,000 including fees earlier in 2024. Alongside Mr Hines’ appointment, Sotheby’s also announced the promotion of Geoff Hess (above right) to Global Head of Watches. Previously the head of department in the Americas, Mr Hess will continue to be based in New York. Prior to joining Sotheby’s in August 2023, Mr Hess was a watch specialist the Phillips.
Quill & Pad
Recent years have proven particularly colorful in the world of watches, but black is definitely back. Here Sabine Zwettler highlights three charismatic examples putting black in the spotlight. The dark side has never looked so bright!
SJX Watches
Newly established “micro” brand Anoma follows a familiar template: making particular vintage designs or genres affordable. But it’s approaching the concept with a different flavour. Instead of “sector” dials or Breguet numerals, the brand’s inaugural watch, the A1 First Series, is a clean, geometric form inspired by 1950s furniture. Initial thoughts The A1 is refreshing change from the typical “micro” brand offering that is too often a remake of a vintage Patek Philippe or dive watch. While the A1 won’t have the broad appeal of a conventional round watch, it is an interesting alternative for someone on a budget. The A1 is more typical of “micro” brand offerings in its fit and finish. It is done well for the price, but some compromises had to be made to achieve the affordability. The gap between the case middle and back, for instance, is quite obvious. This isn’t a criticism but a fact true of all brands in this genre. Vintage flavour Founded by Matteo Violet Vianello, a management consultant who’s a watch entrepreneur on the side, Anoma aims to be a “experimental and daring vision of watch design”. The A1 is not modelled on a watch, but instead a triangular table designed in the 1950s by French architect Charlotte Perriand. Earlier in her career Perriand worked at Le Corbusier’s studio, where she helped design several now-famous pieces of furniture, including the B 306 chaise longue. The watch reproduces the outline of the table with the cas...
Hodinkee
[Re]Master02 and the best of vintage Patek Philippe.
Hodinkee
Previewing Sly's "door knockers" and a whole lot more.
SJX Watches
A patrician banker who gained posthumous fame in the 21st century for his watch collection, Henry Graves Jr. (1868–1953) is most famous for having owned the Graves Supercomplication, once the most complicated watch in the world, and also the most expensive watch ever when it sold at auction ten years ago. His reputation means the watches he once owned – there were not all that many of them but all were high quality – carry cachet. One such example is coming up for sale at Phillips New York auction. It’s a Patek Philippe “Extra Special” pocket watch that is top-quality chronometer, classical in style and functional, and bearing the all-important Graves family crest on the hinged back. Now a horological symbol Not rivals but great collectors Graves’ modern-day fame as a watch collector was due in part to the ostensible rivalry between him and James Ward Packard (1863-1928), the engineer who founded the eponymous automobile company and an equally accomplished collector of great watches. Though both were active during the same decades, more or less, the famous competition between the two was a story made up in the 1990s to market the Supercomplication. Graves outlived Packard by 25 years, and the latter was quite ill when Graves was at his collecting peak. Graves bought the “Extra Special” pocket watch here in 1925, the year Ward fell ill with cancer before dying just three years later. An example of Packard’s impeccable taste: he commissioned this Patek Ph...
SJX Watches
Phillips’ upcoming New York auction, taking place on June 8 and 9, includes an unusual number of exceptional, highly complicated English pocket watches. Notably, these watches were consigned by the same discerning collector who owned the unique Patek Philippe ref. 767 with double split-seconds that recently sold for US$1.30 million including fees. All dating from the late 19th to early 20th century, the pocket watches exemplify the most prestigious type of timepiece in the world during the period, the high-quality English watch. Banker J. Pierpont Morgan, for instance, was an avid collector of English watches, and owned what was then the most complicated watch in the world, and made in England naturally. Quintessentially English That, however, was also when English watchmaking of this quality peaked. A victim of economic crises, war, and unwillingness to adopt new manufacturing technologies, high-end English watchmaking would go extinct after the Great Depression, though it has been revived in the 21st century in artisanal form thanks to the likes of Charles Frodsham. English watches in their heyday were often very complicated, but restrained in terms of movement decoration. This same philosophy would later be employed by George Daniels, who understood that quality did not equal decoration. He famously said on several occasions that a high-quality watches does not need fanciful decoration (which he implied was customarily Swiss). The auction includes five English pocket ...
Hodinkee
Plus a pair of fun and functional chronographs from IWC and Tudor.
Hodinkee
No more "price on request" on the Patek website means you finally know how many years (or decades) you'll need to save for a Grandmaster Chime.
Worn & Wound
Massena LAB has announced a new collaboration with independent watchmaker Raúl Pagès inspired by one of the most important Patek Philippe watches of the last century. The Absinthe, which serves as the direct follow-up to the pair’s massively successful 2022 release, the Magraph, brings together a proprietary hand-wound movement, a strikingly green dial (reminiscent of the infamous spirit for which the watch is named), and all the vintage charm we have come to expect from Massena LAB in one surprisingly affordable (and highly limited) package. William Massena is one of those rare figures in the watch industry who everyone seems to know. He’s an outsized presence who seemingly manages to be everywhere at once and have a hand in every facet of the watch industry. Over the last few years though, his name has come to be associated primarily with Massena LAB, where he consistently produces some of the most talked about limited editions and collaborations on the market. This latest release follows closely on the heels of a watch introduced last month. That watch - a collaboration between Massena LAB, Pagès, and Phillips Auction House in association with Bass & Russo - debuted the M690 movement used in the Absinthe and drew inspiration in its layout from the iconic (and record-setting) 1952 Patek Philippe ref. 2458 produced for J.B. Champion, Jr. That watch was one of only two Patek wrist watches to have been fitted with an Observatory-grade movement, and its unique d...
Quill & Pad
Designing a new Calatrava may be one of the most difficult tasks a watch designer can be given. As a benchmark model in the dress watch arena, anything less than perfect is unacceptable. The new Reference 6119 highlights the fact that the Calatrava is capable of both changing and remaining true to its roots as Martin Green explains here.
Fratello
We’ve all heard it: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” This advertising slogan became almost as iconic as the watches themselves. That’s understandable, too, considering how it tugs at the heartstrings and strongly implies superior quality. But what charges a watch with heirloom quality? And […] Visit Pass It On - The Heirloom Quality Of Properly Made Watches to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The spring auction season in Geneva started dramatically enough with a cyberattack at Christie’s that took down its website and app. Only Watch went ahead as scheduled, however, and raised over CHF28.3 million, with most of that coming from the Patek Philippe Grande Sonnerie ref. 6301A that sold for CHF15.7 million. What transpired at Only Watch also played out in the subsequent auctions over the weekend. The live sales at the four auction houses, Antiquorum, Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s, sold almost CHF85 million of watches, including fees (excluding Only Watch). This compared to over well CHF110 million for Geneva’s fall season last year. Although the sale season six months ago was buoyed by an extra live auction at Christie’s (that was subject of much chatter), the diminished total for this season reflects the state of the market. The waning sentiment was palpable in all the salerooms. That said, the auctions did throw up a handful of grand surprises, including CHF3.13 million for the Patek Philippe ref. 605 HU world time pocket watch with cloisonné enamel dial at Antiquorum, and CHF1.16 million for the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain I at Phillips. Christie’s sold the most expensive wristwatch this season with CHF2.47 million for a Patek Philippe ref. 1518 “pink on pink” (above), though Antiquorum claimed the title for most valuable timepiece with its ref. 605 HU pocket watch. Image – Christie’s The good and great indies One of the ...
Fratello
Last weekend was a big one for the renowned auction houses. All the famous ones in Geneva had incredibly impressive timepieces under the hammer. Some amazing watches, including rare or unique vintage ones, were in the avalanche of timepieces we saw for sale at the yearly spring auctions. We went through the different results and […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Recently Auctioned Watches - Featuring Patek Philippe, Rolex, And Cartier to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Plus a two-tone Cartier Roadster, and an IWC Portuguese Chronograph in green.
SJX Watches
One of the most fascinating timepieces in Phillips’ upcoming Hong Kong auction is the Patek Philippe grand complication pocket watch ref. 767. Made in 1950 and sold in 1952, this one-of-a-kind pocket watch boasts a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, and double split-seconds chronograph. More accurately, it is a mono-pusher, double split-seconds, or even triple-split seconds. This ref. 767 features not two, but three, chronograph seconds hands. As a result, it can simultaneously measure three elapsed times of up to one minute. The complication is possibly unique amongst Patek Philippe watches. A historically significant watch in itself, this ref. 767 also has notable provenance: it once belonged to Seth Atwood, the American industrialist who founded the now-closed Time Museum. According to Philips, this ref. 767 was Atwood’s everyday watch, not surprising since he was a legendary collector of his day with a collection that included the Patek Philippe Graves Supercomplication and the Duc d’Orléans Breguet Sympathique. Three seconds hands, two in blued steel and one in gold Initial thoughts I’ve been impressed by many pocket watches – some that come to include a Patek Philippe observatory tourbillon and the Philippe Dufour Grande Sonnerie – but I’ve rarely been surprised. This ref. 767 was, however, entirely unexpected. When it was first described to me, I was confused and immediately thought of the Lange Double Split. But as it turns out, this is entirely d...
Quill & Pad
The Geneva Watch Auction: XIX held over the weekend by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, totaled 39,667,167, just a tad over its high estimate, and set five world records.
Deployant
Patek Philippe introduces the new Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/1R featuring a chain-style bracelet - a first since the early 1980s.
Hodinkee
While the Christie's website was down, it didn't stop the bidding for Patek, Journe, Rexhepi, and others.
Monochrome
In the realm of chronographs in 1999, it was customary across the watchmaking industry to rely upon outsourced calibres. Rolex, for example, was still using a modified Zenith El Primero to power the Daytona, and Patek Philippe had yet to introduce its in-house chronograph (2005); Patek’s 1998 chronograph 5070 was built upon the Lemania 2310 […]
Hodinkee
Plus an IWC Perpetual Calendar, and a Grand Seiko GMT.
Hodinkee
The design-forward Ellipse steps into the spotlight with a "new" vintage-inspired construction.
SJX Watches
The two most important examples of independent watchmaking in Only Watch 2024 are arguably the stealthy F.P. Journe Chronomètre Furtif Bleu and the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Antimagnétique, each a significant creation of a leading watchmaker of his generation (and interesting enough, both are sports watches). Inspired by mid-20th century explorer’s watches that were magnetism-resistant, the Chronomètre Antimagnétique (RRCA) is an elegant but robust watch with a stainless steel case and an entirely new calibre equipped with an indirectly-driven centre seconds with a hacking, zero-reset mechanism. In its Only Watch form, the RRCA is a unique watch but also a prototype for a new line of elegant sports watches. NB: The watch pictured is a work in progress that is not entirely finished so the dial is a prototype and the movement is not perfectly clean. It will be delivered in a perfect state to the eventual owner. Initial thoughts Many of the RRCA’s details bring to mind mid-20th century “sports” watches. Not the sports watches we know of today, but rather the water-resistant Patek Philippe watches made in the 1940s and 1950s for gentlemen sportsmen and adventurers. This reflects with Rexhep Rexhepi’s respect for traditional Geneva watchmaking, which is also expressed in the RRCC but in a different manner. The RRCA subtly marks a new direction for Rexhep Rexhepi’s aesthetics. It’s clearly a thoughtful evolution of the RRCC. While the RRCC is a dress watch, ...
Teddy Baldassarre
Founded in 1839 in Geneva, Patek Philippe has long been the gold standard of high watchmaking, pioneering complications and design elements that are now found widely throughout the watch industry - from the first keyless winding system in 1845 to the first annual calendar wristwatch in 1996, with many other innovations and historic timepieces in between. Throughout the maison’s long and prestigious history, watches from Patek Philippe have proven to be among the most coveted and valuable on the watch-auction circuit, making up nine of the 10 most expensive watches ever sold and 14 of the top 20. What are these record-breaking Patek Philippe timepieces, what makes them so special, and exactly how much money did they fetch when the hammer came down? Below, we count down the top 10, ending with the most expensive watch ever sold at auction. Patek Philippe Gold Chronograph Ref. 1527 ($5.709 million, 2010, Christie’s) Sold at Christie’s in 2010 and still holding its spot in the top 10 most expensive Patek Philippe watches, this exceedingly rare perpetual calendar chronograph with a yellow-gold tonneau case more than doubled its pre-auction estimate. Its matte silver dial features applied Arabic numerals, a tachymeter scale, and three subdials for chronograph minutes, running seconds, date, and moon-phases. Its movement is stamped with the prestigious Geneva Seal, attesting to its elite level of finishing as well as its chronometric performance. 9. Patek Philippe Titaniu...
Worn & Wound
Phillips, along with Bacs & Russo, has recently unveiled the 1952 Observatory Dial Limited Edition. This watch was created in partnership between three industry leaders: Phillips Watches, William Massena from the horological concept studio Massena LAB, and the award-winning independent watchmaker Raúl Pagès. The result is a watch that encompasses each collaborators’ unique talents, while building a watch that melds past and present seamlessly. Drawing inspiration from the legendary Observatory-grade Patek Philippe Ref. 2458 wristwatch, originally crafted in platinum for collector Joe Ben “J.B.” Champion, Jr. in 1952, this watch pays homage to horological history. Notably, the original timepiece set a record in 2014 as the most valuable time-only wristwatch ever auctioned, solidifying its iconic status. Despite its vintage influences, the 1952 Observatory Dial Limited Edition has a distinctly modern essence. Building upon the technical foundation established by Massena LAB and Raúl Pagès in 2022 with the Magraph Limited Edition, this collaboration introduces a 38.5mm × 10mm stainless steel case housing the manual-wind, proprietary caliber M690. This movement is a refinement of Massena LAB’s inaugural movement, features sub-seconds at 9 o’clock and hand-decoration (including hand finished anglage on bridges and plates) overseen by Swiss craftsmen under Pagès’ direction. Embracing a love for vintage timepieces and the narratives surrounding them, the colla...
SJX Watches
One of the highlights this coming spring auction season in Geneva is prime example of a rare watch at Antiquorum. Consigned by the family of the original owner, the Patek Philippe World Time Cloisonné “World” ref. 605 HU DE in pink gold is both in fine condition and boasting a possibly unique combination of features, namely a pink gold case, a “world” motif cloisonné dial in unusual colours, and early “observatory” style hands. Produced for some three decades from about 1937 to the 1950s, the ref. 605 HU (short for heure universelles, or “universal time”) is a quintessential Louis Cottier-type world time; its wristwatch counterpart was the ref. 2523 HU. Just over 80 were made over the production run, with about two-thirds in yellow gold and the rest in pink gold. They were made by Louis Cottier in his Geneva workshop in an artisanal manner, explaining the variances across examples. Most were equipped with conventional metal dials, including rare examples in pink or black, but from the 1940s onwards, Patek Philippe began selling the ref. 605 HU with cloisonné enamel dials. Less than 20 were made with cloisonné dials, most depicting map motifs of some sort. A handful, maybe just two, featured figurative dials, including the ref. 605 HU in the Patek Philippe Museum with the Greek sea god Neptune on the dial (that Antiquorum sold in 1989). This example is rare for having a map of the entire world – only two others are known – as well as being in pink go...
Monochrome
While pilot-style watches have now found a comfortable niche within the modern Patek Philippe catalogue, the introduction of the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time 5524 in 2015 sparked more than just curiosity: it stirred a veritable commotion. Many were taken aback, feeling it was a departure from the typical Patek Philippe aesthetic. The design, markedly different […]
SJX Watches
At Watches & Wonders 2024, Patek Philippe introduced the World Time with Date ref. 5330G-001, the brand’s first regular-production world time with a date. Although the model officially debuted last June with a 300-piece, purple-dial limited edition for the Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Japan, the ref. 5330G-001 brings this complication into the mainstream with global distribution and a more versatile colour palette. Initial thoughts The ref. 5330G is quintessential Patek Philippe is several ways. It embodies a complication synonymous with the brand that is presented in a slim case. The overall aesthetic is modern but clearly vintage inspired. And the movement incorporates a complication that is cleverly executed and necessarily thin to fit the case. So conceptually, it is appealing. The ref. 5330G is also appealing in terms of its tangible qualities. It has good proportions and a refined, polished appearance that is typical of modern Patek Philippe watches. What do I not like? The carbon pattern dial is intrinsically attractive – it is done well and modern in feel – but feels a bit overused. Earlier world time models, on the other hand, had dial patterns that were unique to the reference. And the other is the Patek Philippe pricing. At over US$76,000, the ref. 5330G is steeply priced for a relatively straightforward pair of complications, even considering the ingenious construction of the date. But it is a Patek Philippe, and the unrivalled brand name alone accounts ...
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