Hodinkee
In-Depth: The Patek Philippe Victorin Piguet Split-Second Wristwatch
In our first addendum to our Reference Points video and story on Patek Philippe split-second wristwatches, we looked at Patek Philippe split-second pocket watches and the brand's relationship with its supplier, Victorin Piguet. Switzerland has (and continues to have) the most robust supplier marketplace for everything from complex movements to dials and cases. In the warmer months of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, it was easy enough to just send someone on a short journey to the Vallée de Joux with a letter requesting a movement or other parts and receive one a short time later. These établisseurs all had their own specialties, but few were as important as Victorin Piguet. I'd argue it was far more unusual for Victorin Piguet not to be involved in a watch (such as their absence from the La Grosse Pièce project for Audemars Piguet) than to see their name on supplier lists. So what was their impact on wristwatches? In our video, we focused solely on serially produced models (and even then, there were a few we couldn't get our hands on), all of which started after Patek shifted its production more in-house. One thing we didn't discuss, however, was the history of the brand's first split-seconds wristwatches, which used a Victorin Piguet ébauche. It's no understatement that these watches are among the most important in Patek Philippe's history and among the most coveted for vintage-focused Patek collectors. One-off, bespoke pieces, these watches don't exactly fit...
