A pink gold Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 ‘World Time’ with a regular non-enamel dial but a peculiar ‘flat’ bezel was just sold at Phillips in Geneva for the impressive sum of CHF 444,500, incl. premium. A world record. More than double what regular pink gold examples can reach. It was the rare ‘flat’ bezel, which, according Phillips’ essay, gives the watch a “much more masculine and even brutalist aesthetic vibe”, that did the trick. Now, never before has a specifically highlighted part been more obviously incorrect—actually comically wrong—than in this case. The only thing more obvious would have been if the bezel had featured engravings executed in the infamous Comic Sans typeface.

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LOT 143 – PateK Philippe Ref. 1415 ‘World Time’ , 655713, 962483

At first glance, the present lot looks like a regular post-war Patek Philippe ‘World Time’ wristwatch. Its revolving bezel with world cities (plus certain countries, islands, and states of the United States), however, is anything but regular. The surface is flat, whereas in all other known examples it is subtly convex and sloping towards the outer edge. The knurling is considerably wider than usual. Also, the crown is a later replacement. Crowns from the period did not feature the Calatrava cross.

Auction link: Lot 143 – Patek Philippe Ref. 1415, 655713, 962483 (phillips.com)

As a graphic designer, what caught my eye first was something else entirely. The modern-looking typeface, the awkward kerning (spacing) between some of the letters (BO MBAY, SING APORE, AL ASKA), and, of course, the fact that some engravings are fatter than others. If we compare the inscriptions to a regular bezel from the era, e.g., 655707-962975, the present bezel looks totally out of place with its modern-looking typeface, lacking any serifs (short strokes that extend beyond the ends of characters). The locations look pantograph-engraved, whereas on regular bezels they appear hand-engraved.

I was so focused on the poor typography and execution that I completely missed the most comical element of this bezel. Many of the locations are actually misspelled. My friend Baruch (IG: @budgecoutts) discovered this after I highlighted the bezel’s incorrect typography in one of my Instagram stories. At the time of production, Patek Philippe offered these bezels in two languages, French and English. The present ‘flat’ bezel is clearly English. It says London, not Londres, Moscow, not Moscou, and Mauritius Isld (Mauritius Island), not I. Maurice (Île de Maurice). If we look at Fiji Island, they forgot the ‘i’ in ‘isld’. The ‘h’ in Tahiti is after the ‘T’. It says Thaiti. Montreal is written Monreal without the ‘t’. Rio de Janeiro is missing the ‘i’ in ‘Janeiro’. Pekin is kinda French, though it lacks the accent aigu on the e (Pékin). At the time, the correct English name for Beijing was Peiping.

The operator who inscribed this bezel must have had dyslexia or something. On top of that, he was also a terrible craftsman with no sense for typography whatsoever. If we were to look underneath the bezel, I suspect we would find traces of dried spaghetti sauce. One must be incurably gullible to believe the present bezel passed Patek Philippe’s quality check. Listen to what auctioneer Aurel Bacs said here:

“We have thankfully some extraordinary relationships with collectors who by now understand exactly what we mean with dark yellow, dark champagne, ivory colored patina. Whom we can guide across the planet, across oceans on watches worth millions. That is a privilege. But it took us tens and tens of years ourselves to get in sync with the language that we both speak.”

Let’s see if I got this right. So, these discerning collectors… whom Mr. Bacs guides “across the planet, across oceans on watches worth millions”… they would never fall for a bezel as comical as the present ‘flat’ one and pay more than double for it, would they?

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Known Provenance

1989 – First appearance

The present watch was first auctioned in October 1989 by Habsburg, Feldmann S.A., a Geneva-based auction house that at the time was in a joint venture with Antiquorum. While the watch depicted in the catalogue featured the same bezel as today, the essay stated:

“flat revolving bezel bearing the names of 41 towns in the world”

41 was the usual number of locations featured on Ref. 1415 bezels in 1948. However, the bezel featured only 29 locations. Except for mentioning the ‘flat revolving bezel’, there seems to have been no attempt to hype the watch as a prototype. It is unclear whether the watch was sold. In the online catalogue overview, the watch is declared as sold for CHF 250,000, which is an awkward round number given that the auction house charged a 10% premium on the hammer price. However, the listing itself does not state either an estimate or a selling price.

Auction link: Lot 409 – Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 ‘World Time’ , 665713, 962483 (antiquorum.swiss)

2001 – Passed

The watch came up for auction again at Antiquorum in March 2001, but remained unsold. For obvious reasons, I would say. The ‘flat’ bezel is so comically wrong that only a collector totally brainwashed by auction house specialists would fall for it. The essay made the following statements:

“Very fine and probably unique, 18K pink gold, gentleman’s wristwatch with special case.”

“hand engraved revolving reeded flat edged bezel bearing thenames [sic] of 29 towns in the world”

“This watch is particularly rare and its rarity consists in the flat bezel and the case which is shaped like a coin.”

Here we can see a clear attempt to hype this watch as something special. While the bezel is indeed unusual, the case is not. It is a regular Ref. 1415 case.

Auction link: Lot 566 – Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 ‘World Time’, 655713, 962483 (antiquorum.swiss)

2025 – World Record

Phillips hinted at the 1989 auction in the catalogue essay, and also mentioned the 2001 sale, while omitting the important fact that the watch did not find any buyers:

“Accompanied by Habsburg Feldman Certificate of Authenticity dated October 15th 1989.”

“Last appearing on the market in 2001 and residing in the same collection for decades, the present piece is one of the most intriguing examples of reference 1415 to appear on the market ever.”

The Habsburg, Feldmann S.A. certificate of authenticity mentioned by Phillips is not worth the paper it is printed on, given that it was subject to the conditions of sale, which clearly stated that the auction house assumed no responsibility. Auction houses never guarantee the authenticity of their lots. The fine print states that the buyer accepts responsibility for conducting inspections and investigations to satisfy themselves regarding the lots they may be interested in. If there are authenticity issues, Phillips requires the buyer to provide, at his own expense, the written opinions of two recognized experts approved in advance by the auction house. On whose side do you think the two recognized experts approved by Phillips will be? Folks, you gotta read the fine print. The fact is, there is absolutely no tangible information about the origins and provenance of the ‘flat’ bezel, yet Phillips felt confident to call it a prototype:

“While no definite information about the genesis of this design is known, it was most likely a prototype similarly to the bean-shaped lugs reference 1416 made in three pieces. It makes sense that the present piece retained the reference number 1415 as the case body is the same as a standard example, the difference lying in the bezel.”

Imagine paying nearly half a million Swiss Francs based on the above waffle. Note also how Phillips stated that the case is standard, while in 2001, Antiquorum claimed that even the case was special (shaped like a coin). To pocket more fees, auction houses will say anything.

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Thoughts

Seldom was a ‘prototype’ part more comical than the rare ‘flat’ bezel of the present Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 ‘World Time’. The timeline shows that this watch failed to sell at least once. Knowing how the game is played, the first auction in 1989 was probably orchestrated to give the watch a provenance. The selling price of CHF 250,000 makes no sense in many respects. The cost would have been in Ref. 2523 ‘World Time’ territory, which was considerably more sought-after and valuable at the time. Also, CHF 250,000 incl. 10% premium is an oddly round number. What was the hammer price? CHF 227,272.72? Then again, the price is only displayed in the overview. In the detail view, there is neither an estimate nor a selling price.

Auctions are, more often than not, a circus where the clowns and impostors have taken over the show. Just listen to their superfluous waffle. Everything these people say needs to be taken with a truckload of salt. Their sole raison d’être is to hype things up to make their fees as fat as possible. Also, never rely on mainstream watch media people. They are also in the hype business, and for access, they will sell their mothers. Collectors need to take the fine print seriously and act upon it. Do not rely on catalogue essays and condition reports. It is mostly horological fluffery. Request high-resolution photos of all crucial details, and, if possible, inspect the watch in person.

As for the rare ‘flat’ bezel, the most plausible explanation is that the original bezel went missing and a third-party manufacturer produced a replacement.

Thank you for the laughs.