7,200 CHF
Patek Philippe & Cie, Genève, movement No. 8092, case No. 2732398, Ref. 3603. Made in 1973, sold on January 23rd, 1974. Fine and rare, rectangular, center-second, 18K yellow gold quartz wristwatch with date. Accompanied by the Extract from the Archives. Two-body, solid, polished and brushed, snap-on case back. Satiné champagne with applied faceted yellow gold baton indexes, aperture at 6 for the jump-type date. Yellow gold dauphine hands. CEH Beta 21, dimensions 29 x 24.3 mm; frequency of the quartz oscillator 8192 Hz, reduced to 256 Hz by the frequency reducer. Dial, case and movement signed. Dim. 33 x 37 mm. Thickness 11 mm. Notes Caliber Beta 21 In 1962 the Centre Electronique Horloger was founded by a group of 21 Swiss watchmakers, including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Omega, Piaget and Patek Philippe, to develop an electronic movement for wristwatches. The result was the Beta 21, 29 x 24.3 mm, a 13 jewel, 8Khz quartz module first seen as a prototype in 1967. In 1968 a consortium of Swiss watch manufacturers was created to mass-produce the Beta 21, in a truly collaborative effort. The CEH designed the module and produced the integrated circuit, Ebauches SA (now ETA)manufactured themechanical parts of the movement as well as the quartz oscillator, and Omega produced the micro-motor driving the hands. The caliber was ready for production in 1969 and was presented at the Basel Fair in 1970.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2008-11-16
