Patek Philippe

Vintage Patek Redux; A Center Seconds Love Affair

May 12, 2023,21:29 PM

I promised @FabR another post with something special back when I posted the Ref. 565. Well it took a bit of time since you know I love to hear myself talk about this stuff but in any case here you go.

Patek Phillipe: a Brief History for Collectors

Many watch collectors delineate major collecting eras based on important dates for the companies they follow.

Most modern Patek collectors consider 1989 a watershed year that separates “modern” Patek from “vintage.” Built off the long-term vision of then President, Philippe Stern, the 150^th anniversary year was a party of biblical proportions - the release of the Caliber 89 Super Complication (33!), the first in-house minute repeater, a Hasberg Feldman (aka Antiquroum) themed auction, and a boatload of 150^th anniversary watches.

For vintage Patek collectors however, there are two notable and groundbreaking years[1] .

1953[2] , Rolex’s patent on the 360 degree automatic rotor expires and Patek releases the 12-600AT. It is the company’s first automatic caliber and a movement many collectors call perfect or arguably “the prettiest.” It is highlighted by its gold guilloche rotor the likes of which have yet to be duplicated.

1932, the year that famed dial makers Charles and Jean Stern bought a majority interest in the company saving it from the Great Depression. They righted the ship by overhauling the company and are credited with starting the use of our collector-beloved reference numbers with “Reference 96.” The Sterns also brought watchmaking in-house by appointing Jean Pfister Technical Director. Jean created the Cal. 12-120 in 1934 – a movement used virtually everywhere including in the ref. 96 from 1934 until the end of its run in 1973!

The Before Times

Prior to 1932 (well ’34 really) collectors seem to lose interest. There is the “Gondolo Gang” and its fantastic history with Patek from 1872-1927 (More on that in a different post.) The are also the early collectors searching for an 1850s keyless pocket watch. Patented by JA Phillipe in 1845 and marketed as the first keyless winding system. It was far from that - spoiler: it was Breguet – but important, nonetheless. The rest, however, apparently bores us all to tears.

Pocket and Wristwatches

Patek Phillipe was first and foremost a high-end pocket watch company. (see JA Phillipe’s bronze(!) medal keyless winding system discussed above.) Pocket watches were en vogue from the 1600s until the military saw the need for accurate timing that was not stuck in a waist coat during the first Boer War in 1880 (You thought I was going to say WW1 right?) And while the appeal of a man wearing a “women’s watch” held significant distain by the civilian landed gentry, its functionality in the trenches and fields of battle changed the minds of many of those same men recruited to fight.

By “The Great War” officers were buying wristwatches for themselves and advertisements of their use in war (and cycling) were abundant. The first of these wristwatches were merely pocket watches with wire lugs soldered on, but as time and acceptance grew so did the workmanship.

Movements and Complications

Most pocket and pendant watches used either a Lepine (standard open face) or Savonette (think hunter cases) architecture placing a small seconds dial at 6 directly across from the keyless works and crown at 12 (Lepine) or at 6, 90 degrees from the keyless works and crown at 3 (Savonette). These layouts were popular due in large part to the layout of the wheel train with respect to the balance. These layouts then transferred over to the wristwatch as it was developed.

What may have gone unnoticed in these setups is the lack of the use of center/sweep seconds. There is no major third layout discussed – ever. In fact it is rarer to see this complication in any time pieces prior to the 1940s than it was to see a chronograph whose architecture is similar. An interesting exercise is to go to Chrono24 and search for your favorite brand of vintage manufacturers and count how many center seconds watches pop up prior to the 1920s. You may be surprised.

The (dreaded) Ebauché - Oh how times have changed!

Patek, like MANY others, used LeCoultre (and other) Ebauches in their watches but finished them to the Nth degree. In fact, they continued to use JLC Ebauches for most of the century. JLC’s famed 920[3] family makes up Patek’s Cal. 28-255C as found in the original Nautilus. It also makes an appearance in AP’s original Royal Oak Cal. 2120 and VC’s famed 222 with the Cal. 1120. Talk about a star-studded line up!

The Watch

And now with all that behind us we have arrived at the watch in question. A circa 1915 center seconds movement within a Ref 96 or similar styled Patek signed case keyed to #4 for Antoine Gerlach and hallmarked appropriately. The dial sadly is trash – a bad attempt at reprinting on the dial with indices from who knows where, but the movement is the thing that caught my eye.

A double Geneva sealed, Cal. 12 ligne, center seconds. Signed and numbered, it is a work of art IMHO. The famed Cal. 12SC based of the cal. 12-120 with the addition of a ridiculously complex (and beautiful) Frederick Piguet indirect center seconds is at once both superior and inferior to this movement. The greatest center seconds movement can be argued to be Patek’s famed 27SC direct center seconds. This movement, for me, falls somewhere in between them. Most center seconds you will find are indirect but sit on top of the train bridge with no top jewel and with a small strip of metal used to defeat the “flutter” that is caused by the seconds gear on the main axle.

The indirect center seconds gear on this movement, however, is held under a separate bridge directly over the train bridge that is jeweled and held firm. Why Patek didn’t use this in place of the Piguet module I’ll never understand as it seems like a much more elegant solution.

The Summary

Oh how I’m at a loss as to what to do. Should I take it in to Patek for a full overhaul so it’s in compliance with whatever is on the extract regardless of cost? Should I accept it as is and just live with the horrible dial? Should I just be rid of it with full disclosures? Only time will tell.

But as a piece of history, I am so happy to have come across this piece (dial and all.) It is a glimpse into the watchmaking past that I find fascinating and hopefully you may have as well.

PERSONAL ADDENDUM:

As my watch journey has taken me through time and back, I have found the pull of vintage watches irresistible. I know some may criticize their lack of accuracy or their smaller sized cases, but I find both of those arguments to fall on deaf ears. For accuracy, I will undoubtedly look at my phone who no doubt gets its time from an atomic clock somewhere. For the size, I have reached a point in my life and my collecting where I wear what I like without care as to other people’s opinions. In fact, I would derive delight from a would-be watch snob asking me why I was wearing a watch with such a small case as it would allow me to educate them on the reason I bought the watch in the first place.

Time Moves in Only One Direction, Memento Vivere!

[1] An important but booooring year for collectors is 1949. Patek released the Cal. 12-400 and Cal. 27SC, introduced the famed Gyromax balance, and ended the use of the “long” logo. More technical, less pizzaz but interesting if not era defining.

[2] 1953 also saw the introduction of Louis Cottier’s 12-400 HU, a movement that would change world timers by allowing for the use of a second crown to move the cities.

[3] Oddly JLC never used the 920 family for its own watches