A gorgeous vintage Patek Philippe Ref. 591 Chronograph in 18K rose gold, with a rose gold dial is available on the market again after selling last December in New York.
This rare 1939 Patek Philippe & Co Chronograph 591 Walser Wald features a period-sized 34 mm x 12 mm case and a rose gold dial signed with “Walser Wald” — which was an authorized retailer in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the time.
The 18K rose gold case has a solid snap-on rose gold case (which is stamped on the inside indicating that it was shipped to South America via French ports). A plastic crystal protects the dial, and most notably the dial is an attractive rose gold color with matching leaf-shaped hour and minute hands. The dial is printed with a 30 pulsation pulsometer scale, a tone-on-tone chronograph second hand, hand-applied rose gold spherical indices, along with Roman numerals at 12 and 6.
A Patek Philippe Ref. 591 that sold in 2004, has the same case and bean-shaped lugs, however, that watch which sold for CHF 149,250 on Oct 24, 2004, differed in that it has a printed tachometer scale, a blued chronograph second-hand, baton-shaped hands, baton indices with Roman numerals at 12 and 6 — and is not double signed.
The hand-wound caliber 13 is rhodium plated, has 23 jewels, with a straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, 8 adjustments, a self-compensating Breguet balance-spring, swan-neck micrometer regulator, and is stamped with the Geneva Quality Hallmark.
Based on the Phillips archival listings, it’s estimated that only 54 of these were ever made, and with extract papers from the archives, you can be confident this watch is authentic. Offered on a brown leather strap, stamped with the Phillips branding on the underside, and with a new 18K rose gold Patek Philippe buckle. TropicalWatch.com, run by Jacek Kozubek, currently has the timepiece — which was sold at Phillips Auctions just last year in New York on December 12, 2021, for $201,600 — listed for $246,850.
While the 34 mm size is rather small by today’s standard, Kozubek’s excellent photography really brings out the emotions of this incredibly well-kept and stunning piece of Patek Philippe & Co history.
References:
https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/patek-philippe-ref-ref-591-lot-74-232?page=12
http://www.astorlive.net/18k-rose-gold-patek-philippe-ref-591-vintage-chrono-rar/
Photos by Tropical Watch.
