100th Auction

2019/11/15

Lot 16

Patek Philippe & Cie. Genève, "Qualité Extra", Movement No. 97796, Case No. 330451, 60 mm, 173 g, circa 1895
A heavy Geneva minute repeating pocket watch of historical interest with quarter hour / hour strike "Grande Sonnerie et Petite Sonnerie" and 32h power reserve indicator. The watch was sold in 1897 to watchmaker August Ericsson in St. Petersburg for 2,850 Swiss francs and remained in the property of the Ericsson family ever since. It comes with a receipt of a revision recently carried out by Patek Philippe in Genf for 10,888 euros, and a certificate issued by Patek Philippe in 1959, giving details on the history of the watch.
Case: 18k gold, 2 levers for choosing between Grande or Petite Sonnerie and Silence. Dial: enamel, luminous numerals. Movm.: divided 2/3 plate movement, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, gold screw compensation balance.
This heavy pocket watch is fitted with a technically sophisticated movement of unusual beauty; it was purchased for his own use from Patek Philippe by the renowned Swedish watchmaker August Ericsson in 1897 for 2,850 Swiss francs, which was at the time an enormous amount of money. When he acquired the watch, Ericsson had been living in St. Petersburg for over 30 years and had established a successful watch and clock shop – he delivered to the Russian imperial family as well as to the Russian navy. After August’s death in 1915, the watch was passed on to his son Alexander and has been passed down the generations since then – this is the first time ever this watch comes up for sale. According to the family, August Ericsson had a new case made in later years.
The quarter hour strike on two gongs is resonant and clear; the repeater is released very easily by only a quick touch of the lateral slide, as the slide is not needed to cock the mechanism – that is done by the crown, which winds the repeater mechanism in one direction, while turning it in the other direction winds the movement of the watch as usual. Winding the watch simultaneously sets the power reserve indicator (which is an extremely rare feature in a Patek Philippe timepiece).
The letter from Patek Philippe dating from 1959 states: "The watch was sold to your father in 1897 for 2,850 francs, which was a considerable sum at the time. We cannot give you an exact estimate as to its current value due to the fact, that such pieces very rarely come on the market today and are generally not in demand. However, the current insurable value insurance value should be approximately 6,000 to 8,000 francs."

Sold

estimated
60.00080.000 €
Price realized
225.000 €