A Patek Philippe timepiece designed by master watchmaker Louis Cottier and never offered for sale is a highlight of Christie’s Important Watches auction in New York on December 4.
A Patek Philippe timepiece designed by master watchmaker Louis Cottier and never offered for sale is a highlight of Christie’s Important Watches auction in New York on December 4.
The auction house describes the Patek Philippe Dual Time reference 3452/1 as one of seven timepieces bearing this reference made by Cottier. It carries an estimate of $800,000 to $1.6 million.
The watch is the first example of the reference to appear on the market in two decades and the last of the seven known examples to be unveiled, according to Christie’s. Acquired in 1961, the 18k white and yellow gold timepiece has remained in the family of its original owner, reportedly in “superb overall condition, carefully cherished and kept safe for two generations.” It is the first time the watch has been made available to the public in its 65-year history.
Remi Guillemin, global head of watches at Christie’s, said the timepiece was previously unknown to the collecting world.
“This is one of the most important Patek Philippe watches Christie’s New York has offered in the past years,” Guillemin said. “The watch ranks among the most intriguing discoveries in vintage complicated Patek Philippe wristwatches of the 21st century and is arguably the most refined of the combined seven examples of Louis Cottier’s reference 3452 and 3452/1.”
Cottier was an independent watchmaker best known for inventing the world-time watch, which displays the time across all 24 global time zones simultaneously on a single dial. He later developed the dual-crown system as an improvement to the world-time complication.
Guillemin said Cottier’s first prototype for the reference 3452/1 is believed to have been made in 1954. “From its inception, the model was conceived as an exceptional luxury wristwatch, distinguished by an aesthetic unlike anything else in the maison’s contemporary production,” he said.
The 39mm timepiece features a waterproof case with a screw-down caseback and is powered by an automatic movement, rather than the manually wound movements Patek Philippe used in its dual-time watches of the period. Other distinguishing features include a two-tone gold dial and two-tone gold bracelet. Christie’s notes that the bracelet was almost certainly made by Jean-Pierre Ecoffey, a well-known Geneva bracelet maker.
Two of the seven examples are believed to have been made in 1960, two in 1961, including the auction watch, and the remaining three by 1963. Each differs from the others in at least one aspect of its design, according to Christie’s. Two examples were reportedly commissioned for Middle Eastern royalty.
Cottier’s twin-dial design, powered by a single movement, enabled Patek Philippe to become the first manufacturer to produce a twin-dial complication without using two separate movements. His modification of caliber 27-460 allowed the two dials to operate in tandem or be set independently to indicate a second time zone. The wearer could activate the mechanism by pressing the button at 2 o’clock and turning the crown.
Christie’s has yet to release the complete catalog for the sale, but other announced highlights include a 14k yellow gold Rolex reference 6264 “Cherry Logo,” an 18k yellow gold 1991 Cartier Crash, and an “exceptionally rare” Audemars Piguet reference 5504 triple-calendar watch. The latter is one of only 20 examples and the first to appear on the open market since 2017, according to the auction house.
The sale will also include several modern, complicated Patek Philippe timepieces, many offered in “single sealed,” unworn condition. Among them is a reference 5207/700P-001 platinum minute repeater tourbillon with perpetual calendar with mahogany obsidian inlays.
The auction is part of Christie’s Luxury Week, a series of sales and exhibitions taking place at the auction house’s Rockefeller Center flagship in New York from December 3 to 9.
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