Timeline Watch
1958

Patek Philippe Antimagnetic

First transatlantic jet passenger service started by BOAC, with a New York to London route

Patek Philippe Antimagnetic Gubelin Dial ref. 2570/1, Calibre 12-400.

Vintage Patek Philippe Antimagnetic Gubelin Dial features a manually winding Calibre 12-400 fitted into a solid 18k Yellow Gold case. The satin silver dial is signed “Patek Philippe Geneve,” “Antimagnetic”, and “Gubelin”, and features Arabic hour markers at 9, 12, and 3, and a subsidiary seconds register at 6.

It is for many the ultimate goal of timepiece collecting, and for a certain type, the only vintage timepieces they collect. Whichever way you look at it, there is no questioning the elegance of design, superlative manufacture of their movements, and that finding these characteristics on a vintage piece that also tells a story is some next level.

Known to some as the “European Tiffany & Co,” Gubelin has been a luxury timepiece retailer in Europe since the mid 1800s, and has had their stamp on some of the finest timepieces ever sold. While many collectors seek specialty dual signature dials, those with the Gubelin mark are simply tops in our eyes.

Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva. In 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the key-less winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851.
It designs and manufactures timepieces and movements including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. It is considered by many experts and aficionados to be one of the most prestigious watch brands along with Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and A. Lange & Sohne.

Patek Philippe pioneered the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in watches.

In 2012, the company produced 50,000 watches.

Patek Philippe timepieces have recorded high prices in auctions worldwide. A large part of the demand for auction pieces is driven by Patek Philippe themselves, as they are often purchasing in the auction market to add to the collection of the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

The Henry Graves Super-complication timepiece, made by the Patek Philippe in 1933 for the banker Henry Graves, was sold at Sothebys in Switzerland. The sale smashed the world record for the most expensive watch ever sold at auction, which was previously held by the same watch. In 1999, it was sold for $11 million.

Submitted by Analog Shift.