This exceptionally rare and unique Patek Philippe was made in 1921 and originally sold in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. The reverse of the watch depicts a classical Greek cavalry warrior, most likely intended to evoke Alexander the Great or a Hellenistic horseman. The surrounding Greek key motif reinforces the classical inspiration, while the hexagonal framing gives the composition a distinctly Art Deco character. The case back is fully hand engraved and is a work of art in its own right, with the central figure framed by decorative engraving and a bold Greek key border. The dial is equally remarkable: gold, with hand-engraved Roman numerals filled with black enamel and surrounded by an additional Greek key motif in enamel. The movement is a 17 lignes caliber of the highest Patek Philippe quality.
The watch was retailed by Cowell & Hubbard of Cleveland, one of the great names in American jewelry retail. The firm traces its roots to 1861, when George Cowell and his son Herbert took over Royal Cowles’s earlier silversmith shop, which had opened in Cleveland in 1849. By 1879, with the arrival of Addison T. Hubbard, the business became Cowell & Hubbard, later growing into Cleveland’s largest and best-known jeweler. In 1894, the firm moved into the Garfield Building on Euclid Avenue, where its store was described as one of the finest jewelry establishments west of New York. In 1920, it moved again to its own building at 1305 Euclid Avenue.
