One of the Most Sought After Vintage Patek Philippes Known to Exist
The Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415 in platinum / Credit: Christie’s
Last year, Christie’s sold a very special vintage Patek Philippe in auction for a record 14,650,000 HKD. This was a piece unique, a vintage Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415 in platinum that dates back to 1946. The rare and exclusive vintage Patek was sold as part of the so-called ‘Samsung Collection’, the collection of former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, of the Lee family that controls Samsung. Lee Kun-hee was a serious collector, who amassed not only watches but also other things like art, including paintings by Basquiat, Monet, and Picasso.
The Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415 was powered by the manual winding Cal. 12'''120 HU, had 41 world cities on the rotating bezel, and measured 31 mm in diameter. It also has a flat silver dial with white gold Arabic numerals, white gold hands, and the 18-jewel movement is rhodium plated with ‘fausses côtes’ decoration. A truly stunning piece with an interesting backstory as well.
Provenance of the Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415 in Platinum
The legendary platinum Patek Philippe World Time 1415 / Credit: Christie’s
This was not the first time that this vintage Patek World Time had been on the auction block, it was previously sold 20 years ago in an Antiquorum auction for 6,603,500 CHF – setting records even then. The movement was made in 1946 while the case and dial were made in the late 1940s, with the watch originally being purchased in 1950. Over the decades this vintage Patek Philippe changed hands several times, being sold in two Sotheby’s auctions in 1988 and 1989, before being sold privately and ending up in the 2002 Antiquorum auction it was last sold in. In a sense, you can understand why so many people have been after it over the years, as it is truly among the most unique and elite vintage Patek Philippes known to exist.
The History of the Patek Philippe World Time
Credit: Christie’s
Louis Cottier is credited with having invented the modern world time complication, and was commissioned by Patek Philippe in the 1930s to make a model for them, resulting in the Heures Universelles calibers. The Patek Philippe World Time was made between 1939 and 1954, with Louis Cottier also making world time watches for other brands, such as Vacheron Constantin and Rolex.
When it comes to the Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415, the movements were based on the Patek Cal. 12 120 and modified adding the mechanism Cottier had made and patented. In regards to the Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415, 115 movements were upgraded with Cottier’s world time complication, with the ref. 1415 being produced in yellow and pink gold, with only one model being made in platinum.
Thus, this vintage Patek Philippe World Time ref. 1415 is not only rare, but it is also historically significant as the only platinum ref. 1415 that was among the first world time watches ever made using Louis Cottier’s patented mechanism. Quite the find indeed.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“Lot 2507.” Christie’s, https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6320099.
Su, Jx. “Auction Watch: Record-Setting Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 World Time.” Watches by SJX, May 21st, 2021, https://watchesbysjx.com/2021/05/patek-philippe-1415-world-time-platinum-samsung-lee-kun-hee.html.
Editor’s note 18/04/2022: We recently updated this article to specify that Louis Cottier is credited with inventing the modern world time complication, not the original mechanism from the 19th century. Thank you to the reader who pointed this out.