Patek Philippe has long been associated with superbly crafted timepieces fitted with watchmaking’s most prestigious complications. This family-owned brand has earned a reputation for excellence around the world with complicated vintage watches holding the highest number of world records for results achieved at auction compared with any other brand. Along with other Swiss manufacturers, Patek Philippe’s early history begins with the production of pocket watches, which during the 19th and early 20th centuries, were fashionable. Their production included time-only watches, minute repeaters, watches with petite and grand sonnerie function, along with chronographs and perpetual calendars. Over the decades, many different complications and styles were tackled by the company, which have become nearly synonymous with the brand including their line of perpetual calendar chronographs with moon phase, minute repeating timepieces, and world- time watches. The present reference 844 white gold minute repeating perpetual calendar pocket watch is an elegant reminder of the superb, complicated timepieces that Patek Philippe manufactured for their very best clientele.

Reference 844 in one of the cleanest and most elegant Patek Philippe pocket watch designs of the past century. It was introduced in 1965 and indeed the design is typical of that period, featuring a minimalist dial, devoid of any graphics save for the watchmaker’s signature and minimal division. The key feature of the reference, the linear calendar displaying the day, date, and month on a central window at 12 o’clock, further amplifies the overall feeling of purity and balance of the watch. Most perpetual calendar watches are constructed with the calendar functions in subsidiary dials around the dial of the watch. The in-line design was far ahead of its time, serving as the inspiration to Patek Philippe’s latest perpetual calendar wristwatch, the reference 5236P, introduced in 2021.

The Antoine Gerlach case, identified by the number four in a key stamped to the inside of the caseback, is a wonderful example of the spirit of that era. It features a complex construction - obvious in the triple stepped bezel and caseback, further defined by the contrast of the satin and mirror finish and by its perfect symmetry.

According to research, this important pocket watch is one of only two white gold examples known with a linear perpetual calendar.

Hailing from the collection of a famed European collector, Mr. Jean-Claude Biver, the present Patek Philippe ref. 844 is offered in pristine condition, having, in our view, never been polished. Its minute- repeating mechanism has a lovely tone and quality – sonorous and impressively loud. The watch is further accompanied by a white gold watch chain, adding to the overall elegance of the timepiece. A watch connoisseur’s dream, it is an ultimate representation of the best of 20th-century horology.