Christie's auctions - A rare Patek Philippe ready to fly
Of historic magnitude, this 1981 reference Patek Philippe (movement N° 1'119 ' 580, box N° 332'620) is very likely to trigger a buying fever surge on May 13, 2013 in Geneva. One must say that this Patek Philippe ref.3448 in white gold, most likely unique, according to its pedigree extracted from the archives of the Manufacture, is appealing.
Already by its complications combination: 37.5 mm caliber Cal. 27-460 Q automatic, Geneva hallmark, moon phases, day and date displayand perpetual calendar with leap year indicator, 37 jewels, Gyromax balance, 18K gold wheel, matte silver dial, applied gold batons for squared figures, auxiliary edges indicating the date and moon phases: everything is there, up to its case and outer packaging in perfect condition and even the official information found in the treasures of the Patek Philippe history.
Sold on the 7th November 1981 to a collector, this Patek Philippe ref.3448, which remained the property of the original purchaser’s family, seems straight out of the dreams of the craziest aficionado.
Never shown to date, never proposed in other auctions, this Patek Philippe is likely to feed in suspense the hammer of an auctioneer submitted to all matters of pressures… Not least because it is the only one of its linage to have a leap year indicator materialized by a small red dot at 3:30, a subtlety making it even more desirable with an evaluation ranging from CHF 800'000 to 1'400'000 ($850,000 to $1,500,000)