Steel Patek Philippe Ref.1518 sold for CHF 14,190,000

Last weekend, a two-day Phillips watch trading session was held in Geneva, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the watch industry. The flagship of the auction was the legendary vintage Patek Philippe Ref.1518 model, one of four famous steel–cased models. In total, the watch was sold for CHF 14,190,000 ($17.6 million), making it the most expensive vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch ever sold at auction.

The watch was displayed under lot No. 23. Before the start of the auction, it was unexpectedly announced that there would be no on-line auctions for this model. That is, only those who were in the room and those who haggled over the phone competed for the right to own the rarest copy of vintage Patek Philippe. In total, 5 people took part in the fight, three of whom were present in the hall.

The bidding started at CHF 8,000,000. The winner was one of the two participants who traded over the phone. He offered CHF 12,000,000 for the watch (together with the buyer’s premium, the amount increased to CHF 14,190,000). The former owner of the model is the famous watch expert and collector Helmut Krott.

An interesting fact: considering that the total cost of the model in dollars is $17.6 million, it is only slightly inferior to the most expensive vintage watches. Today, this record belongs to the chronograph Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” Ref. 6239, which was sold in 2017 for $17.8 million.

The Patek Philippe Ref.1518 is one of the most important models ever produced by Patek Philippe. Introduced in 1941, this watch became the world’s first mass-produced perpetual calendar wrist chronograph. Most of the pieces in this series were made of yellow or rose gold. Only 4 copies were offered in steel version. This watch with the case number 508’473 and the small number “1” on the back cover is widely known as the first of 4 copies.

According to archival data, they were manufactured in 1943 and sold on February 22, 1944 in Budapest. In November 2016, this model already set a record at the Phillips auction, going under the hammer for CHF 11,002,000.