1032
Patek Philippe
An elegant and attractive white gold and enamel open-faced pocket watch with Breguet numerals, chain, Certificate of Origin and presentation box, retailed by B.H. Stief Jewelry Co.
Full-Cataloguing
- Complete with pocket watch chain, certificate and original box
- Retailed by B. H. Stief Jewelry Co, Nashville, Tennessee
- Case and chain decorated with black enamel throughout
- Silver dial with Breguet numerals
- Secret engraving on inner caseback, double M monogram on the exterior
The present refined Patek Philippe pocket watch from circa 1928 is a compelling example crafted in 18K white gold with black enamel decoration. 45mm in diameter, it features applied Breguet numerals with a case whose engraved and enamelled band frames the smooth surfaces in the restrained yet sophisticated Art Deco manner of the late 1920s. Opening the caseback reveals its American retailer, B. H. Steif Jewelry Co. from Nashville Tennessee which operated from 1865 until 1969.
An intriguing and intimate detail lies on the inner caseback. It is inscribed with a quote “The noise that time makes in passing by is very slight but even you can hear it.” This is the opening of the poem “The Noise that Time Makes” published in 1929 by the Nashville raised American poet and psychiatrist Merrill Moore. Even more interesting would be the double M monogram engraved on the caseback. One might wonder if this pocket watch once belonged to the American poet as a technical instrument into a quiet personal meditation on the passage of time.
The movement is signed by the retailer and bears the distinctive double Geneva-seal stamps that mark the highest standards of finishing. Accompanied by a matching 14k white gold and enamel chain that echoes the case decoration, together with its original Patek Philippe Certificate of Origin and fitted presentation box.
Patek Philippe
Swiss | 1839Since its founding in 1839, this famous Geneva-based firm has been surprising its clientele with superbly crafted timepieces fitted with watchmaking's most prestigious complications. Traditional and conservative designs are found across Patek Philippe's watches made throughout their history — the utmost in understated elegance.
Well-known for the Graves Supercomplication — a highly complicated pocket watch that was the world’s most complicated watch for 50 years — this family-owned brand has earned a reputation of excellence around the world. Patek's complicated vintage watches hold the highest number of world records for results achieved at auction compared with any other brand. For collectors, key models include the reference 1518, the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, and its successor, the reference 2499. Other famous models include perpetual calendars such as the ref. 1526, ref. 3448 and 3450, chronographs such as the reference 130, 530 and 1463, as well as reference 1436 and 1563 split seconds chronographs. Patek is also well-known for their classically styled, time-only "Calatrava" dress watches, and the "Nautilus," an iconic luxury sports watch first introduced in 1976 as the reference 3700 that is still in production today.