A New World Record For A Patek Philippe Two-Crown Worldtime Wristwatch With Cloisonné Enamel Dial
Phillips set two new world records in collaboration with Bacs & Russo during the opening session of The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII on Saturday, May 8. The records include the highest price ever paid for a yellow gold wristwatch sold at auction and the highest price ever paid for a Patek Philippe Worldtime two-crown watch with cloisonné enamel dial.
I was following a lengthy bidding war between nine telephones; with robust participation from Asia, the legendary Patek Philippe reference 2523 sold for CHF 7,048,000 to an anonymous phone bidder with Phillips’ International Business Development Director Pansy Ku.
Senior Consultant Aurel Bacs and Head of Continental Europe & Middle East Alexandre Ghotbi provided comments together.: “The arrival on the market of this reference 2523, with cloisonné enamel dial, was an event that collectors from around the world celebrated with intense bidding, resulting in the watch breaking two world records, for a Patek Philippe two-crown worldtime wristwatch with cloisonné enamel dial & for any wristwatch in yellow gold ever sold at auction - doubling its low estimate. This result demonstrates the appetite across the international market for uber-rare museum quality watches and Phillips’ ability to bring such horological grails to the market.”
The "Silk Road" is one of the most coveted and difficult-to-find watches in the entire world. It is the first Patek Philippe model 2523 with a cloisonné enamel dial to be produced. It is a unique, significant, and exceedingly rare yellow gold worldtime timepiece with two crowns and a "Eurasia" cloisonné dial previously unheard of.
With three examples currently kept at the Patek Philippe Museum, the brand recognizes this model's significance. This makes this model the one among serially produced models with the most significant ratio of examples present in the museum vs. measures made, accounting for roughly 10% of the overall production.
The 12 lignes caliber 12'''400, a movement that Louis Cottier, the creator of the world time system, personally modified, was one of Patek Philippe's most dependable "time only" movements at the time. Each watch was treated practically as a Pièce Unique, going above and above the customary Patek Philippe quality due to the limited production output, the variously ornamented dials, and the limited output.
The world's top collectors regard the reference 2523 (or 2523-1) in any iteration as one of Patek Philippe's apex pieces. However, since the field's inception as a planned endeavor, the cloisonné dial variants have grown to legendary status.
