Reference 96 | A unique and historically important yellow gold full calendar wristwatch with moon phases and Breguet numerals, Made in 1937 and sold to Tiffany & Co. in 1940
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe Reference 96 A unique and historically important yellow gold full calendar wristwatch with moon phases and Breguet numerals, Made in 1937 and sold to Tiffany & Co. in 1940 Dial: silvered Calibre: cal. 11’’’ mechanical, jewelled Movement number: 860’230 Case: 18k yellow gold, snap on case back Case number: 295’441 Closure: brown Attila leather strap and 18k yellow gold Patek Philippe buckle Size: 30.5 mm diameter Signed: case, dial and movement Accessories: Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1937 and its subsequent sale on 17 October 1940 One of Patek Philippe's first complicated wristwatches In 1877, the Calatrava Cross became the official trademark of Patek, Philippe & Cie. Today, the Calatrava is the name given to the brand’s family of round, mainly time only watches. The most classic of which starts with the celebrated reference, the 96. The reference 96 was Patek Philippe’s first Calatrava wristwatch. It was introduced in 1932 and was made until 1973. The reference can be found in stainless steel, yellow gold, white gold, pink gold and platinum. It can also be found with a variety of dials and configurations. Sector dials, Observatory dials, diamond dials, enamel dials, black dials, Breguet indexes, hard enamel indexes, luminous indexes and with subsidiary seconds, center seconds, indirect center seconds and no seconds. According to scholarship, more than 10,000 pieces across metals were made over a 40-year period. Towards the late 1930’s, Patek Philippe manufactured a dozen highly unusual examples of reference 96 that are rarely known to exist to the public. There are 2 known gold reference 96 fitted with the worldtime complication and there are 9 simple calendar wristwatches and 1 perpetual calendar wristwatch known. If we analyze further the 4 gold examples, each watch is different from the next, rendering each example unique. Of the 5 platinum examples, two are identical with salmon chapter ring dials. The first of the two was sold by Sothebys in 2001 for 1.8m Swiss Francs. This watch now resides comfortably in the Patek Philippe museum. The second example, sold by Phillips in May 2023 for over 6m USD and was formerly the property of the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Aisin-Gioro Puyi. Sotheby’s, is delighted to present this historically important reference 96 with simple calendar in yellow gold to the market today. Consigned by one of the leading collectors in the world, the watch is significant in its state of preservation, its configuration and history as one of the important milestones in the brand’s history. The watch was manufactured in 1937 and sold to Tiffany in 1940, no doubt for one of their most important patrons at the time. The watch first appeared on the market in 1989, making close to 1 million Swiss Francs. Again, at Christies in 2007 and finally in 2011, sold to a world renowned collector where the watch has been sleeping ever since. This example has been retained in beautiful original condition, with hard enamel signature and a case with good proportions and hallmarks. Of all the calendar watches known, this is also the only example known with applied Breguet indexes and the moon phases the right-side up at 12’oclock. The present example has huge importance in the history of Patek Philippe as it is one of the very first complicated wristwatches ever to leave the workshops of the firm. The significance of this watch cannot be overstated as it offers an historical account of the firm’s desire to move into complicated wristwatch manufacturing and was released before the ref. 1518 and 1526 perpetual calendar models. The watch is a true “Trophy’ watch and has significant historical importance to the market of complicated Patek Philippe wristwatches. 百達翡麗 型號96 獨一無二及別具重要歷史價值黃金全日曆腕錶，備月相顯示及寶璣式時標，1937年製及1940 年售予 Tiffany & Co. 百達翡麗首枚複雜腕錶之一 1877 年， Calatrava 十字成爲了百達翡麗的官方商標，今天 Calatrava 更成爲了品牌圓形腕錶的代名詞，系列多爲僅時間功能的錶款。當中最經典的莫過為遠近馳名的型號 96. 型號96是百達翡麗的首枚Calatrava腕錶，1932年面世後來在1973年停產。型號可以由精鋼、黃金、白金、粉紅金及鉑金打造。型號備多種不同錶盤或配置：分區錶盤、天文臺測定錶盤、鑽石錶盤、琺琅錶盤、黑色錶盤、寶璣字體時標、硬琺琅字體時標、熒光時標、小秒針、中心秒針、間接中心秒針、無秒針。研究顯示40年來超過一萬枚範例。 1930年末期，百達翡麗打造了12枚高度獨特，鮮爲人知的型號96。此型號已知只有兩枚金打造的世界時間，9枚日曆腕錶，1枚萬年曆腕錶。4枚金的腕錶都與衆不同，均為孤品。5枚鉑金的範例有兩枚都是備鮭魚色分鐘刻度錶盤，第一枚在2001年蘇富比以一百八十萬瑞郎成交，現存百達翡麗的博物館内。第二枚在2023年5月富藝斯以超過六百萬美金成交，是前清朝最後的皇帝溥儀所擁有。 蘇富比非常榮幸呈拍這枚別具重要歷史價值的黃金型號96，備全日曆功能。由重要收藏家委售，品相、腕錶配置及對品牌的意義都非常重大。腕錶1937年製，後來1940年售予百達翡麗最重要的客戶 Tiffany。腕錶1989年初見市場，當時售了幾乎一百萬瑞郎，之後在2007年現身佳士得，最後在2011年由現任藏家購得。 此範例品相非常出衆，備硬琺琅字體，錶殼輪廓分明，印記清晰。在型號已知道的日曆範例中，此錶是唯一備寶璣式時標及12點位置月相的範例。 這錶在百達翡麗的歷史中別具價值，為品牌首枚離開製錶坊的複雜時計之一。作爲品牌邁向複雜時計製作的重要一步，更在1518 及 1526 前製作。猶如“聖杯“般的地位，這枚腕錶在百達翡麗複雜腕錶中絕對舉足輕重。
