PATEK PHILIPPE SPLIT SECONDS POCKET WATCH WITH SECTOR DIAL

Less than 200 split seconds pocket watches were made by Patek Philippe, and it is rare to see one of these examples with an unusual dial variation such as this timepiece.  This split seconds watch was made in 1904 and sold to the American market to the celebrated jeweler Black, Starr, Frost, and Gorham. The company had numerous name changes in its history and in 1929 it also merged with Spaulding, the Chicago based jeweler (and longtime Patek Philippe retailer). In 1953, Marilyn Monroe famously sang the song ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ in the movie Gentleman Prefer Blondes and name drops the top American jewelers: Tiffany, Cartier, Harry Winston, and Black, Starr, Frost and Gorham. This immortalized the retailer and to this day Patek Philippe dials from this exclusive store are coveted by collectors for their rarity and notoriety.

With this example, the dial is signed Black, Starr and Gorham, the case is signed Spaulding Paris (the importer) and the Patek Philippe movement signed Spaulding-Gorham. It captures a moment in history when this historic, power-player retailer was consolidating its branding. The unusual dial features a sector roulette design with applied gold Arabic numerals. Masterfully executed, the split seconds function flawlessly performs as when the watch was first made over 100 years ago.