Last appearing on the market in 2001 and residing in the same collection for decades, the present piece is one of the most intriguing examples of reference 1415 to appear on the market ever. Not only it is the rare pink gold variant – with about 15 pieces known to the market – but it also presents a remarkable design peculiarity. While usually the model bears a bezel with a subtly convex surface, the present example features an absolutely flat bezel. This gives the piece a completely different, much more masculine and even brutalist aesthetic vibe – not to mention it noticeably increases the legibility of the cities. While no definite information about the genesis of this design is known, it was most likely a prototype similarly to the bean-shaped lugs reference 1416 made in three pieces. It makes sense that the present piece retained the reference number 1415 as the case body is the same as a standard example, the difference lying in the bezel.

Launched in 1939, reference 1415 is an absolute milestone reference in the history of Patek Philippe wristwatches. Prior to the reference’s launch, “world time” mechanisms were only found on pocket watches, often displaying different designs to the centre, such as a polychrome enamel painting of continents or mythical creatures.

With the rise of international travel and global communications, the system was introduced in the early 1930s, famously created by genius watchmaker Louis Cottier. Patek Philippe advertising from the period marketed world time watches to “the man whose interests go beyond the horizon” - thus it was ideally envisioned as the watch of CEOs or tycoons with global interests and businesses.

Featuring a local time, with hours and minute hand in the centre, the watch was fitted with a rotating 24 hour ring, along with an adjustable outer ring inscribed with the names of different cities. As such, the viewer could immediately be aware of the current time in any time zone of the world.