PATEK PHILIPPE YELLOW GOLD RECTANGULAR WRISTWATCH WITH MOVABLE LUGS

There’s a good reason you’ve never seen a Patek Philippe in this style before… there is only one other example known — and the other is 18k white gold without sub-seconds. This fresh-to-market, pre-reference rectangular watch with movable lugs is the kind of watch we love to find. Its case construction is a monument of 1920s design — a bold expression of optimism of the roaring 20s — sold just months before the market crash of 1929. This Jazz Age beauty could be easily imagined on the wrist of a character from a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Its opulence with its movable lugs dancing on the wrist with its Art Deco style is pure joy to wear – compare the structure and architecture of this watch case to the Chrysler Building and you will fully understand the vision of the Patek Philippe case design. The dial, as confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, is a statement itself with its applied handout gold Breguet numerals and engraved-enameled indexes and subsidiary seconds, complete with the Patek Philippe & Co. long signature. The high quality 10 lignes movement with 8 adjustments hidden within the case shares a secret – the movement is signed both Patek Philippe and the retailer Grogan & Company, revealing the important American provenance of this watch.

Originally owned by Lawrence W. Knapp, Jr. (1910-1975), Mr. Knapp received this watch when he was 18 years old in 1928 and wore it before graduating from Princeton University in 1934. He was later the owner of a food distribution business in Pittsburgh before retiring to raise racehorses at his estate outside of Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

This unrestored watch, nearly 100 years old, is not only exceptionally important and rare (if not, indeed, unique), it is the ultimate expression of the design creativity of the first generation of Patek Philippe wristwatches.

The new owner may wish to restore or clean the dial, but it is our strong opinion to keep the watch as it is, a beautiful and important wearable work of art from a bygone era.

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