$662,500
Patek Philippe & Cie, Geneve, No 724316, case No 313050, Ref. 2523/1, made in 1965, sold on 17 January 1973. Extremely fine and rare, "World Time", 18K pink gold gentleman's wristwatch with two crowns and "guilloche" dial. massive, polished, lapidated lugs. matt silver, revolving ring dial bearing the names of 41 cities in the world, at the centre, a " guilloche" silver medallion with applied pink gold indexes, concentric, revolving dial in 24 hours for the nocturnal and diurnal hours. The winding-crown on the 3 adjusts the hours and the 24 hours ring; the winding-crown on the 9 turns the ring with the names of the cities. Pink gold fancy hands. Notes Patek Philippe "World Time" wristwatches, with two crowns, have the Ref. 2523 HU (heures universelles) and production began in 1953. The two crowns have separate functions: the crown at 3 o'clock adjusts the hands and the 24-hour ring; while the crown at 9 o'clock operates the disc with the names of 41 cities in the world. Production of the first series of the Ref. 2523 began in 1953 with 7 examples in pink gold, of which 4 were with cloisonne enamel dial. Production was continued, with the Ref. 2523/1, in small quantities until the mid-1960's, and these models were only made in yellow gold, white gold and pink gold, though the exact numbers for each are difficult to establish. This series features different types of dials: • matt silvered. • guilloche (or engine-turned), either on silver dial plate or on gold
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1998-06-20
