JRSMD
10
Some Quick Facts . . .
Wow, thanks for all of the kind words, what a friendly group! Collecting these trays has been a lot of fun and I keep them all right outside my home office, where they inspire daily. One of you asked for some stories -- so please pardon the length of this post but I thought I would oblige.
The hardest one to find was for 1998 (see photo of tray with floral design) Not sure why, but it took years and I finally found one in Germany sold by an antique dealer, and used a translator to negotiate the transaction. I paid up front via PayPal and had no idea if the guy would come through, but to my surprise the tray arrived on my doorstep perfectly packaged/wrapped a few weeks after I sent the cash.
The most valuable one is tough to determine -- because some are so difficult to locate (one or two pop up on eBay every month or so and occasionally a group of them will show up at Christies, Sothenys or the Antiquorum). I believe the one that cost the most for was the small bowel/cover from 2000 (see photo) -- that one garnered a lot of excitement at the time. My wife knew I wanted it but was too cheap to pay the outrageous perceived premium and gave it to me for Father's Day one year -- as I recall, she found it on eBay somehow and wildly overpaid -- but I am glad she did.
The treys are arranged in chronological order staring at the top. My favorites are the two most recent at the end -- (The most recent is the one with the continents and the one before that with the dogs.) The back of each trey has a narrative explaining the design's inspiration, derivation, etc. -- each is a very special piece of art (at least to me).
Once I acquired them all, I asked the uncle of a friend, who is a carpenter, to build something for their display and he built the marvelous display shelf, which in and of itself, is extraordinarily solid and very beautiful -- all cherry wood and meticulously crafted specifically for the trays.
As for the value of the collection -- it is challenging to put a value on the entire group but alas, the hunt is over, and you all know how that goes. Along those lines, if anyone has a modern Patek in good condition (40mm or higher), I am ready to move on to my next project, and would consider a trade for all 26 treys (not interested in a cash sale). It would probably have to be for pick up though (I live in Bethesda, Maryland). I guess I could ship them, but I would hate to have any sort of mishap in shipping. It is not a collection that is easily appraised or replaceable. I am also loathe to make a trade with any sort of seller -- only to fellow collector.
Thanks again for all of the nice posts -- most people see the collection and don't really know what to make of it -- but this group obviously understands and appreciates their significance, which is so nice. I only wish I knew more about them so I could write an article -- I used to write for a watch magazine and would love more information. All I know is that dealers receive them occasionally and pass them along to special buyers. What is so shocking is that I have asked dozens of Patek sales people over the years about them and no one seems to know or really care too much about them. For instance, the so-called Patek "boutique" in Beverly Hills has one or two on display but when I asked about the ones they had on display, the sales people had no idea what they were about or their history. When I spoke with Patek, they were extremely complimentary and gracious but also very secretive about their process (what a surprise!)
Anyway, thanks again everyone! And please post any other questions you may have -- this forum is a wonderful escape. -- John
Patek Limoges Trays -- Origin, history, etc.?
I have been collecting Patek Limoges trays for a decade and finally completed the series, each plate from 1997-2019! Am working on article about these unique commemorative artist pieces. I reached out to Patek who were quite polite but really could not te...
Hi 👋 John, As the Patek moderator, I extend to you a warm welcome to the Patek forum!
Your collection of these plates is amazing ! We look forward to your posts about your Patek watches ! By the way, is that an aquanaut on your wrist ? Gordon
Thanks! [nt]
Yes, that is a 5167, originally bought from an AD with a bracelet but I later bought a rubber strap from Patek and have kept that on since.
Thanks again Gordon, please delete all of my posts and cancel my account.
I have tried to do so on my own but could not figure out how. Thanks again for everything.
Welcome to our great forum, and congrats on an impressive entrance! :-)That is a pretty unique Patek collection to have!
I never looked into their history, but hopefully other friends will be able to give you some more information. Here's my only one from the 2014 anniversary, since I have one of the "corresponding" (wood marquetry) watches. Hope you'll enjoy your time here...
A collection to be proud of!
Well done on your efforts to assemble this fine collection and thank you for sharing this with us. I have one piece and for me it is so special so to have 23 years worth of trays must give you immense satisfaction.
Great collection. How I wish my ad would give me 1. 😂
But that's ok. My dream is to buy a lighter in the Patek saloon in Geneva. 👏 Cheers. 🥃 Geross.
Incredible
I didn’t even know that they had so many different ones.. I have only one which I got as a gift when I bought my wife’s PP. But normally its used for this Not as nicely displayed as you incredible collection 👍👍👍👍👍👍 ...
Lovely collection!
Whenever I see these at auction I always wonder about them. How satisfying it is to see a complete collection! Well done!
It's Just Awesome! Please share your story about your collection too...
Warm welcome to this great community of watch lovers. 🥂
Some Quick Facts . . .
Wow, thanks for all of the kind words, what a friendly group! Collecting these trays has been a lot of fun and I keep them all right outside my home office, where they inspire daily. One of you asked for some stories -- so please pardon the length of this...
Thanks for your story on this amazing collection ! A trade of the whole collection for a watch must be a...
difficult decision. If you are serious about it, please post on the forum "collectors market".
Got it, not quite ready for opening that valve . . .
and so sorry if I should have posted that notion elsewhere. I am still hoping for some info for an article, and thanks again for f everyone’s interest!
Sorry again
I just got an email from the moderator of the collectors market and he cancelled my post. I decided to offer the collection in exchange for “one watch.” I thought it would be a fun process and break the monotony. Apparently, I violated the “no Schilling” ...
The problem here is that you show and share your collection, then a few posts after, you offer to trade it for a Patek...
That's against our forum rules. OR you share your collection, OR you post in on our collectors market. But not both.
Had no idea, I did not read the rules -- did not know there even were rules . . .
I honestly never meant to offend anyone or at all overstep. All I set out to do was to write an article (I used to write for a watch magazine and thought it would be a nice distraction to dig into the history and maybe find some interesting ideas). But ne...
Again, as I explained via PM, no offense taken. That ad needed to be deleted as we cannot allow an item that was presented on a forum to be immediately advertised for sale/trade on CM.
No reason to be frustrated, and nobody got offended. In fact, as I said, if you would like to advertise again this collection for trade in a few months from now, we will be happy to host it on Collectors Market. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend! ...
Thanks for the further details, a really interesting journey! I do hope you'll write a piece about your collection, and we'll be glad to host it in the Patek forum if you so decide :-)
As far as trading something so unique for "just" a watch, I'd probably think about it *very* long before pulling the trigger... I do understand, however, the feeling that comes upon completion of a project, and the desire to somehow move on and find new m...
Great collection, I’m missing 2011 and 2012 and the 2019 (the 2019 is at my AD for collecting)
In tips how to get 2011 and 2012?
The oldest are unfortunately the most difficult to find, I believe I have one copy each otherwise I could have given you one since you're so close to completion (if they ever let me go back to Italy, that is! ;-))
The problem is they are hard to source even for Patek, since they don't print them anymore. Probably the best bet (save buying them second-hand online) is either to ask Patek directly, or some AD(s) you are in contact with. With some luck, an AD has an ex...
Wow...great story and nice collection
Thank you for sharing your story! Very nice back story on those. I believe these were regularly given to VVIPs from their AD. I know of a Patek collector getting one every year from their AD for Christmas. Nice to see there is a fellow Patek enthusiast ne...