Patek Philippe

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Reference 9-90- an icon

The ref 9-90- is in my opinion one of the most beautiful in house movements made by PP in the “golden Age” of watch making. Beautifully engineered the rectangular movement made between the late 1930’s and mid 1950’s was clothed by the most spectacular rectangular cases. With inspirations from both the art deco and the art nouveau period these pieces have never been bettered in terms of design- often copied by re-editions such as the Pagoda (ref 5500) and 10 day ( ref 5100).

The movement is a rectangular work of art measuring 18 X 25.6 mm. It was released in 2 batches. Movement numbers 830 000 – 839 999 between 1934 and 1950 whilst the movement numbers of 970 00 – 977 889 between 1947 and 1967. ( yes that late!)This makes a total of 17 888 movements made, however not all of them were used – witness the latest release from PP the 5105 to celebrate the opening of the new PP boutique in Geneva. A few movements just happened to be found for the release of this platinum masterpiece. Who knows how many more are still in cold storage?
The 9-90 movement came in a number of iterations. Some with a Geneva seal and others not. There were 3 types of balance wheel- either monometallic, bimetallic or the later Gyromax.( see pics )







The most modified 9-90 movement that made into an interesting digital watch.-made as a single prototype by Louis Cottier ( famous for the world timer as well)- the watch movement was patented in 1959 but never made it into production. The only example is available for viewing at the PP museum in Geneva. ( see pic )



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However for us mere mortals who will never have a chance to put such a piece on our wrists we have to “ settle” for the numerous rectangular pieces made by PP. Witness the ref 1953 or the 2442 or the 2441. 

The maker of the case was identified by a number placed in a mark - usually a key for PP. The most common maker of the rectangular cases was a maker called Markowski but other makers such as Gay Freres , and the famous Freres Borgel, later known as Taubert & Fils. also made cases for PP.
Ponti Gennari(the former Ponti Gennari factory is now the PP Museum).
Wenger also made cases for PP. Wenger is famous for making the very rare PP Reverso, one recently sold at Christies for $134k. (This year marks the 80 th anniversary of the famous Jaeger Reverso, initially being sold in 1931.) 
Baumgartner also made cases for PP . he made the rectangular ref 2456 but is more famous for his round master piece the ref 2526. The letters FB are often mixed up between Freres Borgel and Francis Baumbartner although some people feel the F in Baumbartner stands for Fils as no definite evidence of a Francis has been found. Usually FB in a key stamp relates to Taubert & Fils.

The cases were made in precious metals ,although a few rare steel cases such as the ref 492 were also manufactured.
The majority were made in Yellow Gold, less in Rose gold and very few in Platinum.
Their rarity as well as their timeless design makes these pieces very collectable. One drawback is their size. The largest measure 42 mm which is not very large for a rectangular piece especially by todays gigantic standards but those of us with delicate wrists can wear these pieces with absolute confidence knowing that they represent the absolute pinnacle of both movement and case making in PP illustrious history.

Here are some examples from my collection of 9-90 PP movements.

Ref 1593 in YG

Ref 1593 in Plat- note there is no sub seconds – a special request made by the owners to PP. Possibly making it into a more elegant or evening piece.( although there are those who say that one should not any wristwatch with a tuxedo!).
Note the movement number represents one of the last 9-90 ever made

Ref 2442- known as the Banana or rather the Marilyn Munro( I prefer the second)

The case looks like mercury!

Ref 2554 ( also known as the Manta ray)

Ref 450 ( known as the Teggolino or little tile)

To complete my collection I am looking for 2 pieces. A ref 1593 in Rose Gold and the ref 5105 in platinum.It was almost in my hands but slipped away onto the arms of a much more deserving person than I , however I still hope that one day it may be mine!