Found: A Lange One In Steel, A Patek Nautilus in Platinum, And A 3448 In White Gold (Live Pics)

April 14, 2013

Having just visited Christies NY preview of their Geneva saleon Friday, I noticed a micro-theme in some of the stand-out lots: greatwatches, in metals you seldom see.? So,in this quick round-up post, Ill show you three of my favorite watches fromthe Christies Geneva sale with which you may be familiar, but I can all butpromise, youve never seen them in these metals.? Oh, and we have live photos of all, of course. The Only Known Patek Philippe Reference 3448 Perpetual Calendar In White Gold With Leap Year Indicator First, one of the three cover lots to the catalog is a PatekPhilippe reference 3448.? The 3448 wasPPs first self-winding perpetual calendar, and it is, in my opinion, one ofthe coolest and most user-friendly mega vintage Pateks.? Obviously, I adore the old manually woundchronographs, the manually wound perpetual calendars, and certainly the manuallywound perpetual chronographs like the important 1518 and the downright perfect2499, but day in and day out, do you want to wear a perpetual calendar thatdoesnt keep itself going?? I do, butthen again Im more into frivolous horological purity than most, and since Ihavent had the opportunity to wear a 1518, 2499, 3970, 5970, or 5270 for anygreat length of time, it is entirely possible that the novelty of the manuallywound perpetual might wear quickly C I will say that though this UniversalGeneve Tri-Compax I bought at Sothebys last year is absolutely one of myfavorite and most prized watches, the thing is a royal PITA to set after notwearing it for a while.?? So, if you wanta vintage complication, youre left with nothing but the 3448.? The 3448, like most big watches of theday, was produced mostly in yellow gold.? But?the watch weve got here is indeed avintage self-winding perpetual calendar from Patek Philippe, and it happens tobe in white gold.? The thing is absolutely beautiful. And, the combination of the funky little leap-year indicator at fouroclock and the white gold makes this an extremely rare watch.?You can all butguarantee that you could wear this perpetual calendar every day and few people, if any, would suspect youre wearing $1 million on the wrist.? The watch is awesome not only for thecomplication or the rarity, but mostly because of the wearability.? Christies has a pre-sale estimate of $860,000 to $1.5m and more details can be seen here.? The Only Known Patek Philippe Reference 3700 Nautilus in Platinum Next, we have another Patek and another cover lot.? This time its the famed Nautilus reference3700 C you know the watch, the one designed by Genta.? This watch was famously made in stainlesssteel, with a few examples in yellow gold, and even fewer in white.? But, this Nautilus happens to be the onlyknown 3700 in solid platinum.? The thingweighs a metric ton, and though the dial features diamond minute markers(admittedly not the most masculine of touches), this watch is just amonster.? You have to feel it in yourhands to appreciate just how special it is, and while the Nautilus remains oneof the finest sports watches in all of haute horology, simply none can compareto the one that was made in platinum.?Estimate here is 300,000 - 500,000 CHF, and more details are here. One Of "Very Few" Lange One's In Stainless Steel Ask a serious Lange collector what his dream watch is, and if he doesn't say a Pour le Merite tourbillon, there is a very strong chance he'll say a Lange One....in steel.? Yup, the Glasshute mega-manufacture made just a few Lange One's in steel way back in the day at the special request of its best clients.? These steel Langes are incredibly rare, and interest in this early example is through the roof.? This watch is the white whale of early Langes, and the 38.5mm size is just perfect.? Christie's has a pre-sale estimate of around 50,000CHF to 100,000CHF and you can see more details here.