Rare Patek Philippe wristwatch set to sell for £10.8 million
A beautiful timepiece dating back to 1953 is set to be sold for over £10 million at an auction in Hong Kong.
The Patek Philippe reference 2523 known as ‘Gobbi’ – twinned with the name of the Milan retailer where it was sold in 1957 – is a stunning 18-carat pink gold watch with an eye-catching blue dial.
Top five most expensive watches
On November 27, Christie’s will put the 66-year-old watch under the hammer, despite the current political clashes taking place.
Expected to sell for around £10.8 million, the Patek is certain to take its place among the highest value watches of all time.
Even if it sells at the lowest expected bid of £5.4 million, it will still make the top five most expensive watches sold at auction list.
Only seven dual-crown world time watches in pink gold were ever made and this is only the fifth reference to go under the hammer.
But what is even more special about this particular watch is that it features signatures of both Patek Philippe and Gobbi.
And it is expected that the rare Patek, among other luxury item lots will attract interest from collectors in China – the world’s greatest market for Swiss watches.
Winning bid
Whoever secures the winning bid can be confident that the watch is in incredible condition for its age, with no signs of restoration.
It is still fitted with the original polychrome translucent blue enamel disc and they’ll be able to tell the time in Geneva, Dakar, Sydney, Tahiti and 36 other cities!
With18 jewels, stylised gold hands, an inner revolving ring calibrated for diurnal and nocturnal hours, it really is quite the offering.
The technical aspects of the watch were designed in the early 1930s by watchmaker, Louis Cottier. It was he who miniaturised a system for telling the time in every region of the planet, so that it could be accommodated in a wristwatch.
A spokesperson from Christie’s commented that it would be highly unlikely that another reference 2523 would be available for decades to come.
Most expensive watch
Just 10 days ago, a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010 was bought by a private telephone bidder at Only Watch charity auction, fetching a staggering £24.2 million and making it the most expensive timepiece in the world.
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