5 minutes with… A unique Patek Philippe ref.1491 chronograph

International Head of Watches John Reardon describes it as 'unlike any other watch in Patek Philippe's historical production' 'I have had the pleasure of personally inspecting thousands of vintage Patek Philippe watches in my career, and nothing else quite like this ref 1491 chronograph has ever passed through my hands,' says John Reardon, International Head of Watches at Christie's.

During the Second World War, a decade on from Henri and Charles Stern's acquisition of Patek Philippe in 1932, several special prototype watches were ordered directly by and for Charles Stern Some were perhaps Charles Stern's watches; others, watches that had been bought back from clients; and others still, watches that remained in stock Since these prototype watches generally featured the Roman hour numerals that Charles Stern preferred, it seems likely that the watch coming to auction was similarly created upon Charles Stern's request - either for himself, for Patek Philippe as a test watch, or directly for the former owner, an American sports journalist whose particular interest was boxing.

Patek Philippe's American customers would therefore have had to either pay a levy of up to 50 per cent to receive a watch in New York, or arrange somehow to take delivery in Europe. . Source