Patek Philippe Steel Watches


Book Description

With this magnificent volume, watch expert and authority John Goldberger, author of 100 Superlative Rolex Watches, presents the most beautiful and remarkable watches ever fitted with steel cases by the Geneva-based watch company Patek Philippe. With the collaboration of the world's leading collectors and connoisseurs, the collection presented in this exclusive publication is the result of painstaking research, supplemented by professional photographs that show the most minute details and characteristics of the movement, case and dial of each timekeeper. With 187 superb examples, as well as over 900 color illustrations and 800 descriptive texts, this volume offers the watch collector and enthusiast invaluable information about the finest rare masterpieces of Patek Philippe's production, including recent research on referencenumbers, dials, movements, related calibers and each watch's year of production. Organized in 12 chapters, this tome covers a century of the company's quintessential spirit and style.




Patek Philippe steel watches


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Rolex Day-Date


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PRESENTATION: ROLEX DAY-DATE, THE “PRESIDENT’S WATCH” The Rolex Day-Date is the first wristwatch which indicates the date and the day of the week. In 1956 Rolex presents one of its most successful and most popular watches ever: the Day-Date,. This model is one of the world’s most famous Rolex watches; classic, beautiful, functional, useful and elegant. In 2008 a new chapter of this watch, the Day-date II (ø 41 mm) and in 2015 the new Day-Date 40. Known as “President’s Watch”, this Rolex Day-Date has characterized and influenced the history of horology with developments and innovations during the years.With high definition unreleased images, technical details, dials variants, history and updated price of every model, this book analyses every reference from 1956 until today. TOPICS In this book the authors examine calibers, dials, cases, bracelets and many more components of every model. You’ll find all dials with their variants of color (Stella dial) and material(lapis lazuli, root wood, meteorite, etc). Furthermore: the first Rolex Day-Date, 1800 series, “pie-pan” dials, 18000 series, personalized dials, special series, vintage advertisements, box, papers, Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18200 and 18300 series,Day-Date II, Day-Date 40 and much more. We can read from an official Rolex document: « THE BIRTH OF THE “DATEJUST” AND THE “DAY-DATE” Not satisfied with having realized a selfwinding waterproof watch, we decided to dedicate ourselves to studying the calendar watch. This is how the “Datejust”, which clearly indicates the date on the dial in a small aperture with a Cyclops lens which enlarges it so as tomake it easier to read, was born. The next stage was the launch of the “Day-Date”, a perfected model which also indicates, with letters, the days of the week. The day and the date automatically change every evening at midnight. » These are the words of Roger Federer, a living tennis legend, about his Day-Date II: “The reason I like my Day-Date so much is because it is a legendary watch, elegant but with a certain spirit, with a touch ofmodernity added to its stylish black dial”.




Patek Philippe


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Rolex GMT-Master


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PRESENTATION: HOW TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE ROLEX GMT-MASTER The GMT-Master was created to meet the needs of Pan American Airways to supply its pilots with a wristwatch able to indicate the time back home and the time in their arrival destination simultaneously. It was necessary to give the pilots a “technical” wristwatch, which indicated simultaneously the two different times. It is from this point that the request arose from Pan Am to Rolex, to create a new watch for modern age aviators: a watch with two time zones. The name GMT-Master was chosen… Are you a watch collector and you need information about the Rolex GMT-Master? Are you a watch dealer and you want to know exactly what you are buying and selling? Do you want to know the real value of your GMT-Master? For all this and much much more, this book is perfect for you. You will also know the current value of every GMT-Master. TOPICS With high quality images, technical details and updated prices, this book shows and describes every GMT-Master and GMT-Master II reference. For each watch this guide explains every characteristic: crystal, bakelite bezel, anodized aluminium bezel, Cerachrom bezel, bracelet, case back, winding crown, case number with production year, dial, movement, hands, etc. Furthermore, the book shows: “Albino”, bachelite, “Batman”, bracelets, calibers, “circular” indexes, “circular edged” indexes, “Cornino” crown guards, “standard” crown guards, GMT hand with small arrow, Green Dial, Oysterlock, sunken holes, vintage advertisements, Underline, box, papers, the “Ice” model, “Chuck Yeager”, “Tiffany & Co.”, “Mission Everest”, dials with Arab coats of arms, … Attached are the updated estimates of every modern and vintage Rolex GMT-Master.




A Grand Complication


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Two wealthy and powerful men engage in a decades-long contest to create and possess the most remarkable watch in history. James Ward Packard of Warren, Ohio, was an entrepreneur and a talented engineer of infinite curiosity, a self-made man who earned millions from his inventions, including the design and manufacture of America’s first luxury car—the elegant and storied Packard. Henry Graves, Jr., was the very essence of blue-blooded refinement in the early 1900s: son of a Wall Street financier, a central figure in New York high society, and a connoisseur of beautiful things—especially fine watches. Then, as now, expensive watches were the ultimate sign of luxury and wealth, but in the early twentieth century the limitless ambition, wealth, and creativity of these two men pushed the boundaries of mathematics, astronomy, craftsmanship, technology, and physics to create ever more ingenious timepieces. In any watch, features beyond the display of hours, minutes, and seconds are known as “complications.” Packard and Graves spurred acclaimed Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe to create the Mona Lisa of timepieces—a fabled watch that incorporated twenty-four complications and took nearly eight years to design and build. For the period, it was the most complicated watch ever created. For years it disappeared, but then it surfaced at a Sotheby’s auction in 1999, touching off a heated bidding war, shattering all known records when it fetched $11 million from an anonymous bidder. New York Times bestselling author Stacy Perman takes us from the clubby world of New York high society into the ateliers of the greatest Swiss watchmakers, and into the high-octane, often secretive subculture of modern-day watch collecting. With meticulous research, vivid historical details, and a wealth of dynamic personalities, A Grand Complication is the fascinating story of the thrilling duel between two of the most intriguing men of the early twentieth century. Above all, it is a sweeping chronicle of innovation, the desire for beauty, and the lengths people will go to possess it.




The Watch, Thoroughly Revised


Book Description

The Watch is the most popular book on vintage and contemporary mechanical watches, appealing to both beginners and experts. In the decade since it was published, the international audience of watch lovers and watch collectors has grown exponentially. It’s time for The Watch, Thoroughly Revised. For this new edition, the original author, Gene Stone, is joined by Stephen Pulvirent of Hodinkee.com. Together, they have thoroughly revamped the book to reflect the current state of the watch world, with the addition of new brands, new models, and more focused and nuanced coverage of the traditional brand leaders, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, and TAG Heuer.




Patek Philippe


Book Description

"The distinctive watches from Patek Philippe are among the finer things of this world. Long valued for their precision and elegance, here they are appreciated as well for their financial value and its potential for growth. This book serves as a guide for watch collectors and investors alike."--Jacket.




100 Superlative Rolex Watches


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William Kennedy (1814–1890) was an explorer and fur trader. In 1851 he was recommended to Lady Franklin as the commander of her second sponsored expedition in search of her husband, Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin (1786–1847), who had not returned from his 1845 expedition to chart the remaining unexplored section of the Arctic and the Northwest Passage. This volume, first published in 1853, contains Kennedy's account of his 1851 Arctic expedition to rescue Sir John Franklin. Written in the form of a diary, Kennedy describes in detail the hazardous conditions of the Arctic. The crew's experiences including snow blindness, frostbite, scurvy and explorations of land on foot accompanied by Husky dogs are described in detail. Kennedy's use of Inuit survival methods and the type of provisions which were used are also described, providing valuable insights into early nineteenth century methods of Arctic exploration.




Patek Philippe in America


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