Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
18ct yellow gold Patek Philippe enamel set fob watch, 1897
- Maker / attribution
- Patek Philippe (maker)
- Date
- 1897
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- yellow gold
- Dimensions
- Case 28 mm
- Stock no.
- G3404
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G3404)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 18ct yellow gold Patek Philippe enamel set fob watch. Made 1897 (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G3404), this is a pocket watch by Patek Philippe, made in Switzerland, dated 1897. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 28 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
For decades, pocket watches were the main stage on which Patek Philippe demonstrated its skills. Even though wristwatches have taken their place, they still delight connoisseurs of rare timepieces. As the guardian of high-end watchmaking artistry, the manufacture continues to craft pocket watches in small numbers. Their aesthetic finesse remains a source of fascination. These timepieces with manually wound movements are produced in compliance with the strict directives of the Patek Philippe Seal, as regards both artisan-ship and rate accuracy. Today, vintage Patek Philippe is a titan in the vintage luxury watch community. Their obsessive attention to detail combined with ground-breaking feats such as the first serially produced, perpetual calendar wristwatches as well as the first split-second chronograph wristwatch, have made Patek Philippe wristwatches and pocket watches some of the most sought after in the world. Brand : Patek Philippe Made: 1897 Model: Fob watch Reference: N/A Calibre: 10''' Movement: Manual Material : 18ct yellow gold Features : Front and back case back decorated with "Le nuit" and "le jour" enamel scenes Dial : White enamel dial featuring black painted outer minute track and Roman numeral hour markers with blue steel spade hands Case dimensions: 28mm Bracelet/Strap: N/A Accessories : Extract from the Archives SKU: 3404
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
Pocket watches
The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.
Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.
What to look for
- The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
- Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
- Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
- Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
- Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.
Dating clues
- Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
- Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
- Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.
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:Verge escapementDetached lever escapementFuseeIdentification Centre
Related records
Clocks · 1965–1975
Quartz master clock QM 1, with movement by Patek Phillippe, Switzerland, 1965–1975. Supplied by English Clock Systems.
Science Museum Group, London
Instruments · 1965–1984
Chronometer by Patek Philippe and Kelvin Hughes, England, 1965–1984
Science Museum Group, London
Pocket Watches · c. 1895
Patek Philippe pocket watch, c. 1895
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · c. 1900
Patek Philippe Chronometro Gondolo, c. 1900
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · c. 1850
Watch by Eugène Bornand, Switzerland, c. 1850
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · probably c. 1850–55
Watch by Firm of Perret & Cie, Switzerland, probably c. 1850–55
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · c. 1850–55
Watch by François Czapek, c. 1850–55
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · c. 1850
Pocket watch by D Bachelard et Fils, Switzerland, c. 1850
German Clock Museum