Patek Philippe Pilot Watch Goes For $1.7 Million At Christie's Auction

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) May 23rd 2009 at 6:02PM

I bet you've never seen this Patek Philippe watch before. That is because it was not known to exist, and is a one of a kind made in 1936. Earlier this month in May, this watch sold for just over $1.7 million dollars at a Christie's auction in Geneva. The buyer was a private Swiss museum, and they recognized the special watch for its value, especially as a unique Patek Philippe. The watch is chrome-plated nickel being large at 55mm wide and has some unique navigational complications and an hour hand that operates on a 24 hour scale (not 12 hour scale). I don't claim to understand the functions entirely, as I am no pilot, but the watch is set to measure a 360 degree circle. The minute hand makes a full rotation each 4 hours, and the two seconds hands rotate each 4 minutes. Really not sure about what that all does, but it has something to do with directional angular navigation. The time can still be read though, but on the 24 hour scale. This goes to show that no matter how peculiar they are, the watch collecting world simplly loves a rare Patek Philippe timepiece.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Via WatchTime.

Tags: auction, aviator, christies, patek philippe, PatekPhilippe, pilot, rare, watch

Filed under: Timepieces, Auctions

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