Article | Patek Philippe Philippe Starck Hieroglyph Calatrava Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Xxiv November 2026

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is delighted to present The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, a live auction taking place on 7–8 November 2026 at the Hotel President in Geneva. Featuring more than 220 exceptional luxury timepieces from leading makers including Patek Philippe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, and F.P. Journe, the sale includes the special Patek Philippe Ref. 3998 featured in this story.

A name on a personalized watch might usually be engraved on the caseback. On this Patek Philippe Calatrava, however, it appears on the dial – written in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Made in 2002, the yellow gold Ref. 3998J uses those hieroglyphs in place of conventional hour markers. But they do double duty. Read phonetically, the symbols form “VILIP” at 6 o’clock and “STERKK” at 12. Say them out loud and the apparent name becomes clear: Philippe Starck, the French designer.

The watch belongs to a small group of hieroglyph-dial Calatravas believed to have been commissioned by the Qatari collector Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani. Each takes the familiar Patek Philippe Ref. 3998 and, through its dial, turns it into something a lot more personal.

Reading the Dial

Patek Philippe’s accompanying Extract from the Archives confirms that the watch was produced in 2002 with hieroglyph hour markers, but it does not identify the person for whom it was made.

That is where the dial itself becomes important. Its phonetic reading points to Starck, while the watch’s proposed connection to Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani places it within that wider group of similarly personalized Calatravas. The Frenchman’s ownership, however, has never been confirmed.

The Starck Connection

Philippe Starck emerged as one of the best-known French designers of his generation, working on furniture, household objects, interiors, architecture, and yachts. He gained international attention in the 1980s after President François Mitterrand commissioned him to refurbish the private apartments at the Élysée Palace.

Much of Starck’s career has been associated with what he calls “democratic design” – bringing considered design to objects intended for a broad audience. This watch sits at almost the opposite extreme: an 18k yellow gold Patek Philippe apparently commissioned for one individual.

Starck is unlikely to have had any input into the design of the watch. His presumed role in its story is instead encoded in the dial. For a designer whose name became closely associated with the objects he created, here his own name has become part of another creator’s design.

Related Commissions

The watch first appeared at public auction in June 2014 as part of the Titanium Collection, a group of 11 unique Patek Philippe timepieces, although not every watch in the ensemble was made from the lightweight white metal.

The same collection included another yellow gold Ref. 3998 with a hieroglyph dial, its inscription interpreted as a phonetic rendering of photographer Helmut Newton’s name. Phillips subsequently sold that watch at The Geneva Watch Auction XXIII for CHF 444,500.

Another example, made in titanium, carries an inscription read as Sheikh Saud Al Thani’s own name, strengthening the connection between these watches and the Qatari collector. A similar hieroglyph-dial Patek Philippe was also photographed on the late David Hockney’s wrist, although its serial number is not known.

Coming to Geneva

Beyond its eye-catching dial, the watch retains the straightforward architecture of the Ref. 3998: a 34mm yellow gold case, central seconds, a date window at 3 o’clock, and the automatic Caliber 315 SC.

Instead of adding a discreet engraving, the commission places the presumed recipient’s name front and center – albeit in a form that requires some deciphering!

You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV catalog here.