Sometimes, you have to ask yourself why a watch should set you back millions of dollars when with an amount significantly less you can have a wristwatch serving the same purpose. Well, that is where most of us are mistaken; some watches are more equal than others. Owning a Patek Philippe watch is like an investment because it’s such a high-end piece, and one of their slogans makes it clear by saying that even when you buy one of their watches, you are not actually owning it but merely acting as a keeper for the next generation. Such a statement reminds you of holding a title deed to a piece of land which you want to pass down to your future generations.
That said, have you ever heard of the Patek Philippe Reference 1527 that was auctioned for $5.7 million in 2010? If not, here is your chance to know more about it and the reason for the high price.
During the World War 2, specifically between 1943 and 1944, as the Allies and Axis Powers went to war, one company in Switzerland was busy making its history. Patek Philippe had already outdone himself in 1933 by creating the most complicated watch in the world with his bare hands, for Henry Graves. Like anyone who is passionate about what they do one success does not obscure their vision of wanting always to remain ahead of the game so Patek did not slow down but instead went ahead to begin creating a timepiece that would forever remain relevant in the company through its design.
While not much has been explored about this watch, what we have gathered so far is that it was one of two Ref. 1527 watches. During the Great Depression, two men, Jean Stern and Charles Stern acquired Patek Philippe, which became a joint-stock company in 1901. Charles then commissioned a Reference 1527, and this one has not yet been sold; it remains in Switzerland in the Patek Philippe museum. The second Ref. 1527 became even more special because it featured a chronograph mechanism that the first watch did not have. Besides being a chronograph wristwatch, other features include a tonneau-shaped case, date and moon phases, and slightly curved lugs. The watch registers time through the 30 minutes register, three subsidiary dials for constant seconds while the outer rim has a tachymeter scale and 5-minute division. As for the dial, the manufacturer applied a silver-matte while the numerals are in Gold Arabic. The lever movement is Cal.13”’ and nickel-finished whereas its dial measures 37.6 mm in diameter. It has a bimetallic compensation balance and in the band are two chronograph buttons, rectangular-shaped.
No matter how good something is, you still have to convince someone that it is worth every penny; otherwise, a customer will walk away and buy a competing product. The Patek Phillipe Reference 1527 was sold for $5,708,885.
This particular watch happened to be produced at a time when everyone was wondering if they would survive to see the light of another day since the world war was at its worst. Old they say is gold, but when it comes with history attached to it, then you have to admit then the high price.
Diamonds, gold, and other precious metals have never gone out style, and people have killed to lay their hands on them. The ref. 1527 watch has 23 jewels in its construction while the buckle is made from 18 carats of gold.