104th Auction

2021/5/22

Lot 130

Patek Philippe & Cie.
"Foxy Ferdie"

An exquisite, select Geneva pocket watch with five-minute repeater, bearing the enamel monogram of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Comes with original, leather-covered Patek Philippe case with royal monogram, original Patek Philippe certificate dating from June 30, 1896, and hand-written instructions for use.

estimated
55.00080.000 €
Price realized
-
specific features
Case
18k pink gold, polished, the case back with blue engine-turned enamel monogram of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria in the form of a letter 'F' in Cyrillic, crowned by the royal Bulgarian crown.
Dial
Enamel.
Movement
Bridge movement, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, gold screw compensation balance.
Case no.217164
Diam.51 mm
Circa1893
Ctry.Swiss
Wt.109 g


The condition of the case and the movement is excellent and the quality is outstanding. For the five-minute repeater, the two hammers strike on two different gongs. The hands of the watch are set backwards, which is unusual.
The back cover of this watch is decorated with the Cyrillic cypher of Ferdinand I (1861-1948), King of Bulgaria; it is crowned by the royal Bulgarian crown.
Ferdinand I, nicknamed 'Foxy Ferdie', was elected Prince Regnant of Bulgaria in 1887 and ascended to the throne in 1908, abdicating in 1918.
Ferdinand I was born on February 26, 1861 as Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was elected Prince Regnant of Bulgaria in 1887 and ascended to the throne in 1908 until his abdication in 1918.
Under his rule Bulgaria entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers in 1915. After his abdication, Ferdinand returned to live in Coburg in Germany. He died in Bürglaß-Schlösschen on September 10, 1948 in Coburg, the cradle of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty. Ferdinand was the last surviving grandchild of Louis-Philippe of France; his final wish was to be buried in Bulgaria.