Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
18ct rose gold Patek Philippe Minute repeating perpetual calendar chronograph pocket watch with moon phases, 1887
- Maker / attribution
- Patek Philippe (maker)
- Date
- 1887
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- rose gold
- Dimensions
- Case 54 mm
- Stock no.
- G3566
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G3566)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 18ct rose gold Patek Philippe Minute repeating perpetual calendar chronograph pocket watch with moon phases. Made 1887 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G3566), this is a pocket watch by Patek Philippe, made in Switzerland, dated 1887. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: rose gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 54 mm. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Somlo Antiques
Patek Philippe is a Swiss luxury watch brand that has been around since 1839 and since then, has achieved global recognition for its exceptional craftsmanship. The company is renowned for the Graves Super-complication, a pocket watch that held the title of the world's most complex watch for 50 years. However it was in 1889 when Patek first patented their famously known perpetual calendar mechanism, and continued to popularize complications such as the split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in mechanical watches. Brand: Patek Philippe Made: 1887 Model: Full Hunter Reference: - Calibre : 19"' Movement: Manual Material : 18ct rose gold Features/complications : Minute repeating, perpetual calendar pocket watch with moon phases Dial : White dial with outer minute track featuring Roman numeral hour markers. Subsidiary seconds and date at 6 o'clock, months of the year at 3 o'clock, days of the week at 9 o'clock and phases of the moon at 12 o'clock Case Dimensions : 54mm Bracelet/Strap : N/A Accessories : Original box and Extract from the Archives SKU: 3566
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Machine production with interchangeable parts, pioneered by Waltham (1850s) and adopted by Elgin, Longines, Omega and others, made reliable lever watches widely affordable. Keyless winding became standard, railroad watch standards were introduced (1890s), and Swiss and American industries competed globally.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology
Atlas type guide
Repeating watches
Before electric light, telling the time in the dark was a real problem. Repeating watches strike the time on demand when a slide or push-piece is operated: quarter repeaters sound hours and quarters, minute repeaters hours, quarters and minutes. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare disputed the invention in London in the 1680s. Early repeaters struck on a bell inside the case; Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced the gong (a coiled steel wire) around 1780, allowing thinner watches.
Repeaters require a separate train with racks, snails and a governor to control the striking speed, and are among the most demanding complications to make and adjust. Swiss makers of the Vallée de Joux specialised in repeating ébauches in the nineteenth century.
What to look for
- A slide on the case band or a push-piece through the pendant.
- Gongs encircling the movement (after c. 1780) or a bell in the case (earlier); pierced case for sound.
- The racks, snails and governor visible under the dial or on the movement.
- Terms such as 'Minutes', 'Quarts' or 'Répétition' on the dial or cuvette.
Dating clues
- Bell-striking quarter repeaters: c. 1690–1800.
- Gong repeaters and dumb repeaters (striking on the case): after c. 1780.
- Minute repeaters became more common after c. 1830 with Vallée de Joux ébauches.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Minute repeater
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