There are watch models that in virtue of their historical importance, rarity and attractiveness have soared above all the rest and are regarded unanimously by the community as “watch collecting endgame”: pieces that, once acquired, a connoisseur can feel to have reached the utmost peak of collecting, he or she becoming part of an ultra-exclusive club which only the most discerning and demanding collectors can say to have joined.

The Patek Philippe reference 1518 in steel is the top echelon of this category.

More than an endgame in watchmaking, the 1518 in steel is in the same trophy league as a Ferrari 250GTO, a DaVinci painting or a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1945. Desirable, impossible to obtain and category defining.

The historical importance of the reference 1518 can not be highlighted enough, launched in 1941 it was the world’s very first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph and stayed the only wristwatch (along with its sibling ref 2499) with this complication combination for the better part of the 20th Century. This reference not only set the blueprint design for all future perpetual calendar chronographs to come but also set the course for Patek Philippe’s dominance in the world of high-end Swiss watchmaking.

Patek Philippe produced approximately 281 examples, with the majority encased in yellow gold, while approximately 20% were cased in pink gold. Scholarship has shown that during the reference’s 14-year production run, a total of only four 1518s are publicly known today to have been completed and to exist today in stainless steel.

Of the four known examples the present lot was the very first reference 1518 in steel produced elevating its historical relevance and desirability to new Himalayan heights.

Three of the four known steel 1518s have sequential case numbers

508473(1), manufactured in 1943 – the present timepiece
508474(2),manufactured in 1943
508475(3), manufactured in 1943
6335561 manufactured in 1947

Scholars and collectors have wondered why Patek Philippe would use stainless steel rather than precious metals for these four watches. Was it due to the price of gold in the midst of second world war, a special commission or just a test? In any event Patek Philippe would never again make another perpetual calendar chronograph in steel again, once again underlining the importance and relevance of this timepiece.

This watch was manufactured in 1943, two years after the first reference 1518 was made. On February 22, 1944 the watch was sold to Joseph Lang of Budapest Hungary. Not even two months after Hungary had declared war on Germany, officially putting an end to the country’s cooperation with the Axis powers. The fate of the world was far from known. Tomorrow was not guaranteed but there was a sense of commitment to living in the present clearly demonstrated by Mr. Lang when he made his purchase. In 1944 when this watch was purchased, the retail price for a reference 1518 in stainless steel was 2,265 Swiss Francs - only 500 Swiss Francs less than the gold version of this model. Most remarkably, also the 2nd example of reference 1518 in stainless steel was delivered to Lang on the same day. It is a mystery for whom these two watches were destined. However, both watches resurfaced in Hungary between the mid-1990’s and 2000’s.

The case maker Georges Croisier, later recognized as ‘Genevor SA’, manufactured the three stainless steel references made during the 1518s first production series.

Every detail that a collector would wish for, they will find within this example. In addition to the amazingly beautiful condition of this watch, the subtle nuances found within the parts are sure to impress watch scholars around the world.

The inner caseback is stamped with the serial number 508’473 and underneath the number ‘1’, indicating that this watch was the first reference 1518 in stainless steel ever made. Another interesting detail is the last three digits of the case, ‘473’, are engraved on the inner side of the stainless steel bezel.

The overall condition of the present example is in a word, remarkable. The case is, in our view, as strong as any steel wristwatch from the 1940’s could possibly be, with hardly any signs of wear or polishing. Sharp edges, pristine and intact brushed and polished surfaces have been perfectly preserved. The full proportions of the case are exactly as it left the factory in 1943, with all lugs incredibly sharp, the two chronograph pushers in superb condition, and the original crown fitted.

The spectacular dial, free of damage or harsh restoration, manufactured by Fabrique de Cadrans Stern Frères, is engraved on the back with the last four digits of the movement number. To take it even one step further, on the back of the weekday wheel and the month wheel, the undersides of the discs are engraved on the back with the entire movement number, ‘863’193’ - all of which was done by hand. The dial is breathtaking in its beauty, and superbly preserved for a watch of its age, The raised black hard enamel signature and scales are all crisp, well-defined, and in remarkable condition.

Given the watch’s supreme importance, it should come as no surprise that our opinion is also echoed by John Goldberger in his book, Patek Philippe Steel Watches. Mr. Goldberger dedicated four entire pages to this watch, giving it a prominent position inside his historical tome, a privilege only shared by the world’s best examples in their category, and subsequently some of the most important vintage watches in the world.

The present watch made its auction debut at Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Four, 12-13 November 2016 selling for slightly above CHF 11,000,000 (about the same amount ins USD at the time) making it not the very first wristwatch to break the CHF 10 million barrier and the world’s most expensive wristwatch demonstrating its importance as not only a timepiece but elevating it to the realm of an" objet d’art".

There are creations that define an era—the wheel, the Gutenberg press or the smartphone to name a few. And there are icons that define an entire category, Claude Monet's painting "Impression, Soleil Levant" opening the door for Impressionism, the Lamborghini Miura defining the supercar or StarWars setting the benchmark for Sci-Fi and Heroic Fantasy films that would follow. Rare, however, is the object that defines both its time and its genre. The Patek Philippe reference 1518 in stainless steel is such an object.

A timepiece of almost mythical status, it stands as the ultimate convergence of historical significance, design mastery, mechanical innovation, and rarity. Utterly unobtainable, profoundly influential, and fiercely coveted, it is not merely the most important wristwatch ever created by Patek Philippe—it is among the most consequential objects of the 20th century.