Patek Philippe’s complicated pocket watches are a marvel both for their technical prowess, and classic design. The “Moderne” triple complicated line of pockets watch from the late 1930’s until the late 1950’s is a wonderful demonstration of the manufacturer continued traditional horological past, yet looking to a new modern appeal. The non bassine case is in style with the design and fashion of the times, featuring elegant clean lines with an architectural feel.

These timepieces stepped out of their bounds with the oversized 50mm cases by Emile Vichet. The first known triple complicated watch by Patek Philippe was manufactured around 1874 and in the ensuing 69 years, the mechanics remained relatively the same, but the watch took on a distinctively 20th century look.

The present pocket watch is a rare example of these complicated timepieces. The early dial of this timepiece features the leap year indicator with the months of the year, however this format was soon removed in order to give the dial a cleaner perspective. Most of the dials were manufactured by Stern Frères and came in five different series with the earliest watches featuring all Arabic numerals like the present watch, the second series had eight Arabic numerals, while the third featured eight Arabic numerals with no leap year indication, one known example with the moonphase at the 12 position and finally dials featuring the months in a circle.

In excellent overall condition, this reference 658 is a delight to examine, and the quality of the repeating mechanism is non comparable to others. While the current international watch market is being driving by rare and vintage wristwatches, the savvy collector looks at all timepieces available and when a gem is offered, they jump at the opportunity to add it to their collection.