Auction News: Phillips To Sell Rare Patek Philippe 1518 Reference

The Patek Philippe Reference 1518 occupies a specific and important place in the history of horology as the first perpetual calendar chronograph watch ever produced in the series. The retailer launched in 1941, during the height of World War II and at a time when most watchmakers kept things simple. The year 1518 welcomed the complex, and the references that followed—2499, 3970, 5970 and 5270—are proof that it was in effect.

Top lot at Phillips’ June New York Watch Auction: Sale XIV is an excellent 18k gold example from 1948, still for sale and previously unknown, with a high estimate of $2.4 million. But given the track record of this reference, this time frame could be much higher. Phillips sold a similar gold Reference 1518 for $4.3 million in 2021, while a 1946 example fetched $3.8 million at Sotheby’s in 2023.

Production of the Reference 1518 ran from 1941 to 1954 and produced only 281 examples in all varieties—the most common yellow gold, the rarest pink gold and the rarest steel, just four known examples. Pink gold examples are among the most sought-after, and Phillips describes the one coming up for auction in June as being in museum-quality condition, with an untouched Vichet case, all the high enamel printing intact and a dial structure so impactful that fingerprints are visible on perpetual calendar chronographs made decades later. It may be, according to the auction house, the best-preserved 1518 pink gold reference to go on the block.

“Collectors today are very focused on watches that define categories and establish benchmarks, and few references include that powerful as the Patek Philippe 1518 reference-one of the most important and sought-after wristwatches ever produced,” Paul Boutros, vice chairman and head of watches, Americas, and Isabella in a major statement of sales and international chief, said the head of sales and proia. “We are pleased to present a new-to-market pink gold example, in excellent condition and which will immediately be recognized as the best-preserved example ever.”

Watch enthusiasts keeping tabs on sales can expect to see some spirited bidding. The new 1518 reference in this condition doesn’t last long, and Phillips announced the June sale on the heels of its third consecutive 100 percent watch auction of the year. Among the many highlights of the New York Watch: XIV sale are the 18k Reference 6239 Champagne “Paul Newman” Daytona (estimate: $600,000-1,200,000), the Tourbillon Souverain Anniversaire “Hong Kong” No. 1, the original D394 Reference Beyer” $600,000-1,200,000) and a Patek Philippe signed by Tiffany that once belonged to Paul Starrett, the man behind the Empire State Building (estimate: $15,000-30,000).

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