105th Auction

2021/11/13

Lot 96

Patek Philippe & Co.

A delightful and extremely rare Geneva miniature pocket watch cylinder escapement produced for the German market - one of the smallest watches of its time. It was sold in June 1857 and delivered to Sackermann Hessenberg & Co. à Francfort. With original gold-covered, velvet and silk-lined morocco presentaion case, winding key and Patek Philippe extract from the archives

estimated
22.00030.000 €
Price realized
-
specific features
Case
18 K gold, engine-turned.
Dial
Enamel.
Movement
Bridge movement, keywind, cylinder escapement, three-arm brass balance.
Case no.9753
Cal.7'''
Diam.18 mm
Circa1854
Ctry.Switzerland
Wt.8 g


Even in the early days when the company still traded as Patek & Czapek and Patek & Cie., it had already made the miniature watch one of its specialities. The watch we have here is one of the earliest ones made after the company had begun trading as Patek Philippe. Watchmakers have always competed against each other to create ever smaller designs. A particularly small model Patek Philippe produced was famous for being the smallest watch in the world at the time; it was sent to the 1851 Exhibition in London, where Queen Victoria and her husband the Prince Albert both bought miniature watches. This started a great interest in these small treasures and launched a series of unmitigated success for the company. An identical miniature watch to the one the queen bought at the London Exhibition, no. 9754 was sold at Antiquorum in 2005.