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Four rare Patek Philippe from Jean-Claude Biver's private collection soon to be auctioned

2020-02-28T17:24:26.069Z


NEW - They should be auctioned next May in Geneva. These four flagship pieces from the private collection of the living legend of contemporary watchmaking are estimated at 3.1 to 6.2 million euros.


Visionary, agitator, disruptor and charismatic name of the watch industry, Jean-Claude Biver has redefined the watch landscape of the last 40 years. "When I was at Audemars Piguet I wanted to buy Patek Philippe, as I couldn't, I started to collect their watches," he explains. Over time, he has assembled a collection of exceptional fine watchmaking pieces. "I think I am one of the rare watchmaking bosses to have bought watches from its competitors," he said recently. I started very early, following my favorites and my budget. As I went along, I purified my collection to complete it with pieces that in one way or another marked the art of watchmaking. ”

Read also: Jean-Claude Biver: "You should never separate a watch from its history"

“Jean-Claude is more than a name in the industry, he has brought real innovation to the watchmaking world, explain Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant Bacs & Russo and Alex Ghotbi, Head of Watches, Europe and the Middle East. His knowledge of classic watchmaking has allowed him to always be one step ahead and the four timepieces that we have the honor to present at our auction in Geneva are milestones in the history of watchmaking. "

Patek Philippe Ref 96HU Worldtime (1937)

One of the “characteristics” of the brand. Not because Patek Philippe has a kind of monopoly on this complication; on the contrary, many contemporary and vintage watches display function. However, no “world time” watch from any other brand has ever evoked such strong feelings in the collector community.

Patek Philippe presented its first “world time” wristwatch in series in 1939 under the reference 1415, but it had created a few pre-series and prototype versions in previous years. The current reference 96 is in fact one of these prototypes of ultrarare pre-production of which only two are known, made in 1937 to test very probably the market, which makes it not only a timepiece historically significant but also one of the rarest in the world ever made by Patek Philippe. Unknown to the market, it first appeared in 2011 when it was bought by Mr. Biver. The other copy is at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

Estimate: 281,000 -563,000 euros

Reference 1518 in pink gold with pink dial (1948)

This reference 1518 was the first chronograph wristwatch with perpetual calendar ever produced in series when it was introduced in 1941. According to research, only 281 copies were produced until the reference ceased production with a majority in yellow gold. The 1518 rose gold references were most often fitted with a silver dial. It was only on very rare occasions that they were fitted with pink dials. This variant is so rare that only 13 copies of the reference 1518 are known, making it one of the most exclusive Patek Philippe wristwatches to acquire for a collector. The current watch only appeared on the market for the second time, Mr. Biver being the second owner since its creation. Estimate: 1.12 / 2.5 million euros

Phillips

Reference 2499 second series (1957)

Launched in 1951, the reference 2499 was the direct successor to the reference 1518 and was delivered with more sporty round push buttons and a larger 37.5 mm case. The second series, like the current watch, was offered with Arabic numerals or baton indexes as well as a tachometer. The second series, reference 2499, is so rare that very few copies have honored the international auction market, and only 20 copies in yellow gold with baton indices, like the present example, are known.

Estimate: 940,000 / 1.8 million euros

Reference 1579 in platinum (1946)

This incredibly attractive and well-preserved 1579 reference is one of only three Patek Philippe vintage chronographs in platinum. It is not known why Patek Philippe decided to use platinum for this reference and only for three watches, but it is interesting to note that the three models have consecutive serial numbers and different dials, which makes each piece unique. .

Estimate: 751,000 / 1.5 million euros

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-02-28

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