Top Collectors, Rivals, And Scholars Talk 'Grail Of All Grails' As Sale Of Extremely Rare Steel Patek Philippe 1518 Nears

Few objects can inspire a confederation like this. A Patek Phillipe reference 1518 in stainless steel is one such example. On the eve of Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo offering for sale one of just four known steel examples of the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, the auction house convened a nearly hour-long discussion featuring some of the marquee names in the world of watch collecting. 

Phillips has released a video documenting the gathering, produced in the run-up to the auction sale titled Decade One, to mark ten years since the watch department was launched. Present at the table are a who’s who of Patek experts, scholars, and aficionados who, over the years, have often battled each other to own the reference. They include Dr. Helmut Crott, a Patek collector, dealer, author, and former auctioneer, who was among the early treasure hunters to discover and bring to market some of the few rare examples of the steel 1518. For Crott, the reference has become a blue chip or benchmark to gauge the wider market, he told Hodinkee following the round table talk. “For me, it became an asset. Like the stock exchange, where you can get a quote,” Crott says. 

Also present at the table is Davide Parmegiani of Monaco Legend Group, the only collector and dealer to have handled and sold all four known examples of the steel 1518. “I’m helping the community to understand how these watches are important in the collectables market because the value of these watches has changed a lot in the last 20 years, and today these are really trophy assets and very important financial assets,” Parmegiani says. Adding to the high-stakes drama, Parmegiani is currently selling one of the three other known examples of a steel 1518 in a private sale through his auction house. “You have to consider the investment this watch will be for an entrepreneur for the next 20 years, and you have to consider the pleasure this watch gives to somebody who can afford to own it,” he adds. 

John Reardon, an expert in all things vintage Patek, a noted scholar, dealer, and founder of Collectability, says the opportunity to participate in the discussion with Crott, Parmegiani, Aurel Bacs, and moderator Nick Foulkes was a dream come true. “We are sitting around looking at a steel 1518 and paying homage to a piece that deserves it,” he says. “And yes, it is in the pantheon of horological royalty.” It was the first time Reardon had handled a steel 1518 in person, and he says he was particularly struck by the case construction, which differs from the yellow gold examples he’s bought and sold. “It’s much thicker. I don’t want to use the word industrial, but you can imagine this was a tool watch for the person in Hungary who ordered these two,” he says, referencing what are believed to be the first two examples of the 1518 in steel that were delivered to a jeweler in Budapest in 1944. 

The first example is the watch up for sale at Phillips that Bacs, the auctioneer who will sell the timepiece, calls the “Adam and Eve” moment for the perpetual calendar chronograph. During the 50-minute roundtable, the participants discuss their shared decades of history in studying, hunting, and buying and selling the 1518 reference, of which fewer than 300 are known, with only four in steel. They also share their thoughts on what’s involved in the upkeep of what they call a “living object,” and the methods and practices, such as “washing” the enamel dials, to keep them in collector condition. It’s a detailed discussion on the current state of the highest level of collecting. 

The last time this particular steel 1518 went up for sale at Phillips in 2016, it fetched CHF 11 million in what was a record price for the sale of a wrist watch at the time. For this sale, it’s listed with an estimate in excess of CHF 8 million, and the outcome of this important event is likely to set the tone for the auction market for years to come. 

For more on the Phillips Decade One sale, visit their website. If the YouTube video is not working for any reason, you can view it here.