Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
18ct yellow gold Patek Philippe ref. 725 open face, perpetual calendar pocket watch with moon phases, 1941
- Maker / attribution
- Patek Philippe (maker)
- Date
- 1941
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- yellow gold
- Dimensions
- Case 52 mm
- Stock no.
- G3286
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G3286)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 18ct yellow gold Patek Philippe ref. 725 open face, perpetual calendar pocket watch with moon phases. Made 1941 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G3286), this is a pocket watch by Patek Philippe, made in Switzerland, dated 1941. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 52 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
The establishment of Patek Philippe in 1839 can be linked to the Polish insurrection of 1830. Amidst the revolt against Russian rule, Antoine Norbert de Patek, a young cavalry officer, participated and, like many compatriots, was compelled to escape Poland, eventually finding refuge in Geneva. Swiftly immersing himself in the city's watchmaking industry, Patek, along with fellow Pole François Czapek, founded Patek Czapek & Co in 1839. In 1844, during a visit to Paris, Patek encountered the pioneering French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, who presented his innovative keyless winding and setting mechanism. Czapek opted to depart from the company in 1845, and Adrien Philippe stepped in as Patek's new partner. The company then underwent a name change to Patek & Cie before further evolving in 1851 to Patek Philippe & Cie. In 1932, the Stern brothers, Charles and Jean, acquired the company. Since that time, Patek Philippe S.A. has remained a family-owned enterprise, with the fourth generation currently guiding its path. Brand: Patek Philippe Made: 1941 Model: Pocketwatch Reference: Open faced Calibre : 17''' Movement: Manual Material : 18ct yellow gold Features/complications : Open faced Dial : Silvered dial featuring outer minute track and Arabic numerals with a moonphase at 6'o clock, month of the year at 12 o'clock, days of the week at 3 o'clock and day of the week at 9 o'clock with blue steel moon hands and 18ct yellow gold hour/minute hands Case dimensions : 52mm Bracelet/Strap: N/A Accessories : Extract from the Archives SKU: 3286
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The pocket watch reached technical maturity and then began to give way to the wristwatch after the First World War. Complicated watches for collectors such as Henry Graves Jr. and James Ward Packard, railroad watches, and slim Art Deco dress watches are characteristic.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches
In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.
Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.
What to look for
- Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
- Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
- Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
- Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.
Dating clues
- Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
- English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.
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:Detached lever escapement
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