Just in Time for the Holidays: SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT WATCHES Auction & Exhibition in New York

Give the Gift of Time with Vintage & Modern Pieces at Every Price Point From Nearly 50 Celebrated Makers Including: PATEK PHILIPPE | ROLEX | A. LANGE & SÖHNE VACHERON CONSTANTIN | CHOPARD | RICHARD MILLE BREGUET | LAURENT FERRIER | AUDEMARS PIGUET

AUCTION 5 DECEMBER
** Public Exhibition Opens Tomorrow **

NEW YORK, 29 November 2018 – Sotheby’s auction of Important Watches on 5 December 2018 will feature a full range of timepieces available for everyone on your holiday wish list. The full 250+ pieces on offer will open for public exhibition in Sotheby’s New York galleries tomorrow, 30 November, alongside the auctions of Lady Blue Eyes: Property of Barbara & Frank Sinatra and Magnificent Jewels. Below is a selection of the exceptional watches and clocks that will cross the auction block next week:

VINTAGE ROLEX WRISTWATCHES
The December auction is distinguished by a strong selection of vintage Rolex wristwatches, including rare chronographs, Daytonas and Submariners. The offering is led by two pieces from the 1950s. The 'Jean-Claude Killy' Ref 5036: A Very Rare Pink Gold Anti Magnetic Triple Calendar Chronograph Wristwatch with Registers, circa 1953 (estimate $200/300,000), represents the third generation of Rolex triple date chronograph watches from the Dato-Compax series – one of the most complicated examples ever produced by Rolex. The watch has since been nicknamed the 'Jean-Claude Killy' after the after the French Olympic and World Cup skiing champion. Legend has it that the first example of this model was presented to Killy, who now sits on the board of Rolex, S.A.

Often referred to as the "Padellone" (the Italian word for frying pan), the reference 8171 is one of the most coveted vintage Rolex watches on the market. At 38 mm, its dial was substantially larger than other models at the time. Next week’s sale offers a 'Padellone' Ref 8171: A Fine Stainless Steel Automatic Triple Calendar Wristwatch with Moon Phases, circa 1952 (estimate $100/200,000).

COMPLICATED PATEK PHILIPPE WRISTWATCHES
The selection of complicated modern wristwatches by Patek Philippe are led by the Ref 5016P: An Important Platinum Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Wristwatch with Retrograde Date and Moon Phases, made in 2007 (estimate $400/600,000). Produced in a limited series from 1994 to 2010, Patek Philippe's Ref. 5016 is a modern horological marvel, exemplifying the firm's engineering excellence. It combines the most highly prized functions including a tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual calendar with retrograde date, and moon phases. Consisting of more than 500 miniscule parts within the renowned Calatrava case, the model once held the title of the most complicated Patek Philippe wristwatch ever produced.

A collection of wristwatches from a private American family collection are united by a sleek and thoroughly modern style, as well as its passionate embrace of advanced technology – from avant-garde boutique firms such as Urwerk and Richard Mille to traditional masters including Vacheron Constantin and Breguet. The group is led by a Patek Philippe Ref 3939H: A Fine And Rare Pink Gold Minute Repeating Tourbillon Wristwatch, made in 2005 (estimate $200/300,000). The reference 3939 stands as one of the most understated complicated wristwatches produced by Patek at the end of the millennium. The classically-proportioned 33-millimeter case hearkens back to the elegance of Patek iconic Calatrava, and is further complemented by a white enamel dial made by Donzé in Le Locle.

A CENTURY OF POCKETWATCHES
Property from a Discerning Collector features exquisite pocketwatches from nearly every decade from 1890 through the 1970s, offering a stylistic and technological overview of this horological tradition – from turn-of-the-20th century hunting cased watches by Louis Audemars & Cie and Borel Fils & Cie, to a stylish enamel and diamond-set watch by Vacheron Constantin/Verger Frères circa-1920, to a grand complication watch by Audemars Piguet from 1971. The collection is led by A Rare and Important Yellow Gold Open Faced Perpetual Calendar Split Seconds Chronograph Minute Repeating Watch with Moon Phases, made in 1911 by Patek Philippe (estimate $100/150,000). The watch features three important complications: the perpetual calendar for astronomical functions, the split seconds chronograph for timing two events at once, and a fine minute repeating complication which chimes the hours and minutes, activated from a slide at the case band.

VINTAGE PATEK PHILIPPE WRISTWATCHES
According to our research, only four 8-day movements from Patek Philippe predating modern production models are known to have been produced, and Sotheby’s is therefore thrilled to bring to auction An Extremely Rare Yellow Gold Rectangular Wristwatch with 8 Day Power Reserve, made in 1931 (estimate $150/250,000). There have been two other examples of vintage 8-day Patek Philippe wristwatches that have appeared to market, both with different cases than when they were originally produced – the present lot is the only example to have survived in its original case.