08.11.2021
If you have any inkling about auction-grade horology, there isn’t any other label that has reached the heights and consistency of Patek Philippe. Arguably the brand that has made the most successful number of appearances than other pretenders to the throne, the watchmaker is a benchmark of excellence and is certainly a welcome draw to any auction. After claiming the title of the most expensive watch in the world back in 2019 – the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A fetched CHF31 million which is nearly doubled the previous record – Patek Philippe has given wristwatches a rest and instead contributed an unlikely item: a desk clock. It has went into its museum to recreate something special, a desk clock that is said to have been delivered to automobile tycoon James Ward Packard in 1923. A big-time customer of the Swiss watchmaker, his ornate desk clock featured options that even today’s clocks don’t necessarily possess what the average user would ask for such as a perpetual calendar, a moon phase display, and an eight-day power reserve. This updated version goes abit further too with the inclusion of a week-number display as well as a leap year indicator. There’s a certain regal quality to the entire package – gorgeous sterling silver and vermeil rep the hardware and American walnut inlays provide the panelling. Interestingly enough, Patek Philippe has picked a yellow opaline dial as a colourway, a nod to the record-breaking Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A wristwatch it sold previously for a bucketload of money, hoping the same kind of magical numbers are reached for this desk clock. At the Only Watch auction held in Geneva on November 6, this desk clock fetched a final hammer price of CHF9.5 million, the highest bid achieved at this year's charity auction.
