94th Auction
2016/11/12
Lot 381
Patek Philippe à Genève, Movement No. 31877, Case No. 31877, Cal. 8''', diameter 22 mm, 28 g, circa 1867
A very fine, rare and early, granulated gold enamel ball watch "Boule de Genève", sold on November, 19th 1867 - with Patek Philippe extract from the archives
Case: 18k gold, ball-shaped case with applied scrolls made of gold wire. Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, bezel-wound, cylinder escapement, ring balance.
Our watch has an ingenious keyless winding movement where one half of the ball is turned to wind the watch. As far as we know this is one of the earliest known ball-form watches by Patek Philippe with this kind of winding movement.
The extensive publicity generated a flow of orders for the charming ball-form watches (the so-called "Boules de Genève") from royalty all over the world. Patek Philippe delivered examples to Prince Hussein Kamil of Egypt in 1887 and to Empress Teresa of Brazil in 1888; both pieces are shown in the catalogue of the "Timepieces of Royalty" exhibition that took place at the the Patek Philippe Museum in the autumn of 2005. Today the museum's permanent exhibition holds a small number of later Boules de Genève models in various designs.
The Granulation in jewellery
Granulation is a jewellery manufacturing technique whereby a surface is covered in spherules or granules of precious metal. The technique is thought to have its origins in Sumer about 5,000 years ago. In the first millennium B.C. the technique was used by Etruscans living in present-day Italy. Greek craftsmen also employed the technique, but it was the work coming from Etruria which became famous, in part due to the mysteries surrounding the process.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granulation_%28jewellery%29, as of 10/06/2014.
A very fine, rare and early, granulated gold enamel ball watch "Boule de Genève", sold on November, 19th 1867 - with Patek Philippe extract from the archives
Case: 18k gold, ball-shaped case with applied scrolls made of gold wire. Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, bezel-wound, cylinder escapement, ring balance.
Our watch has an ingenious keyless winding movement where one half of the ball is turned to wind the watch. As far as we know this is one of the earliest known ball-form watches by Patek Philippe with this kind of winding movement.
The extensive publicity generated a flow of orders for the charming ball-form watches (the so-called "Boules de Genève") from royalty all over the world. Patek Philippe delivered examples to Prince Hussein Kamil of Egypt in 1887 and to Empress Teresa of Brazil in 1888; both pieces are shown in the catalogue of the "Timepieces of Royalty" exhibition that took place at the the Patek Philippe Museum in the autumn of 2005. Today the museum's permanent exhibition holds a small number of later Boules de Genève models in various designs.
The Granulation in jewellery
Granulation is a jewellery manufacturing technique whereby a surface is covered in spherules or granules of precious metal. The technique is thought to have its origins in Sumer about 5,000 years ago. In the first millennium B.C. the technique was used by Etruscans living in present-day Italy. Greek craftsmen also employed the technique, but it was the work coming from Etruria which became famous, in part due to the mysteries surrounding the process.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granulation_%28jewellery%29, as of 10/06/2014.
estimated
22.000—35.000 €
Price realized
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