PATEK PHILIPPE - a La Flamme bracelet watch.
18ct yellow gold factory diamond set case.
Case width 21mm. Reference 4815/3, serial 2927593.
Signed quartz calibre E15, numbered 1617978.
Cream dial with factory set diamond dot hour markers.
Fitted to a signed 18ct yellow gold factory diamond set integral bracelet with folding clasp. 67gms.
The Patek Philippe La Flamme was released in 1990 as a signature new ladies line for the company. The La Flamme is a testament to the high level of case making, bracelet making, and gem setting by the house. The beautifully executed case and bracelet were made by Atelier Réunis (the site of the Patek Philippe Museum today). The mother-of-pearl and diamond set dial of this example was made by Stern Creations. Note the detail of the unusual engraved hands. No corner was cut on the production of the La Flamme and the retail price of this example at 27,800 CHF emphasizes the point. Today, these watches sell for a fraction of their retail and represent one the best value buys of so-called ‘modern vintage’ Patek Philippe ladies watches.
About Patek Philippe:
Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux.
Established in 1839, it is named after two of its Polish founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva.
Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding.
It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centres across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Patek Philippe is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious watch manufacturers in the world. Over the years, notable Patek Philippe patrons and timepiece owners include Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Pope Pius IX, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Pablo Picasso, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and, Leo Tolstoy.
As of December 2020, among the world's top ten most expensive watches ever sold at auctions, eight are Patek Philippe watches. In particular, Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 currently holds the title of the most expensive watch (and wristwatch) ever sold at auction (US$31.19 million/31 million CHF), while Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, the world's most complicated mechanical watch until 1989, currently holds the title of the most expensive pocket watch ever sold at auction (US$24 million/23,237,000 CHF).
The company traces its origins to the mid-19th century, when Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek along with his Czech-born Polish partner Franciszek Czapek formed Patek, Czapek & Cie in Geneva on 1 May 1839 and started manufacturing pocket watches.
The two eventually separated due to disagreements and the company was liquidated on 18 April 1845. On 1 May 1845, Czapek founded Czapek & Cie with a new partner, Juliusz Gruzewski.
Subsequently, Patek was joined by French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, the inventor of the keyless winding mechanism, and continued the watchmaking business with a new company, Patek & Cie, beginning on 15 May 1845