Patek Philippe - the basics of building a great collection

Thanks very much, everyone.

 

A question. This is a Patek 846 (31J minute repeater) reference made around the time of WWI but not cased and sold until the 1960s. Can someone explain to me why it brought over $200K (all in) at Sotheby's?



https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/important-watches/reference-846-retailed-by-tiffany-co-a-rare-and

Regards,

Art S.

 

It’s a vintage Patek which is highly collectible. No big surprise here.

 

Let me rephrase: That movement in an 18K Patek case from the 1910s - 1930s normally sells for 20% - 30% of the selling price.

 

Also the fact that it is a minute repeater.

 

I'm not sure if you are misunderstanding or ignoring the point of the question. It's not a wristwatch. Same movement, from a reputable dealer, with an earlier case $25K:

https://www.ashlandwatches.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=VC1-021-SOLD

While rare, these watches have been available for a fraction of the selling price. My question is: is the selling price because of the late (1960s) casing, a shift in the market, or is it an anomaly?

 

I just spoke with Rick Gilbert (Ashland Investments ) who is a dear friend of mine and was the seller of the previous watch you posted. The one recently sold was held by Patek from 1914 and sold in 1968 which could be the reason for the anomaly . More to follow as he was surprised as well.

 

Now you get it!! Thanks for checking with Mr. Gilbert! If his had a fresh service and I was aware of it before it sold, I might have bought his! There seems to be a significant move in nice (high end American & Swiss) pocket watches over the past 6 - 9 months, but not by THAT much. I'm wondering if the $200K Patek pocket repeater is something really special - being cased in the 1960s, an anomaly, or the equivalent of when the first 23 window VW bus sold for over $100,000 - everyone thought the buyer was drunk but he (for some reason I think it was she?) ended up being a trend setter.

BTW, If you ever want a repeater, I highly recommended getting a pocket watch. I love mine (even though it's been locked away for years). Way more bang for the buck, better sound than the wrist version and pulling the lever when it's in your pocket makes more sense than looking at the time as you pull the slide on your wrist... :^)

A Patek repeater / split seconds chronograph is still reasonable compared to the price of modern wrist stuff and the ultimate to have at the track (although eyewatering to overhaul if you need to send it to Patek for service).

Regards,

Art S.

 

Just spoke with Rick again. Not an anomaly. The watch was 1 of 1 but set at a low reserve. His watch and the watch in question are similar but not the same. Many were made of his watch , but the other was one and done period the end.

 

This is one of the best threads in Ferrari chat.yesterday I spent hours reading the entire thread.I have a decent collection of Rolex and I was thinking to get into patek.I am not interested in aquanaut or nautilus.I believe Paterson dna is in complications.I was going through patek 2025 catalogue and 5205r 011 caught my eyes.The watch looked beautiful with simple complications to begin with.
Any thoughts on this.

 

A bit of fun: