The Rarest Patek Philippe You’ve Never Seen: A Singing Bird Box from 1866

This video provides an in-depth look at one of the rarest creations by Patek Philippe: the singing bird box.

Extreme Rarity and Historical Context Patek Philippe created these mechanical bird boxes between 1860 and 1870. They are extremely rare; only 12 were ever made, placing them in “a league all of their own”. Of these 12, only eight are currently accounted for, and four of those are housed at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. This level of scarcity is described as “true rarity”.

In the 1860s, these boxes were highly coveted souvenirs in Geneva, representing the “epitome of mechanical wonder”. For wealthy travellers, they were the “very expensive cuckoo clock of the time”.

Mechanical Design and Collaboration Patek Philippe collaborated with Charles Abraham Bruguet and his son, masters of automata based in Geneva. Patek Philippe used Bruguet’s complex mechanism but “refined it”. A defining characteristic of the Patek Philippe version is the manually wound watch discreetly integrated into the front of the box, a “subtle fusion of timekeeping and art”.

Examples and the Featured Piece The Patek Philippe Museum owns several examples:

• Movement 26685 combines the singing bird box with a perpetual calendar.
• Movement 28389, made in 1866, features exquisite blue and black enamel.
• Movement 80510 is a later outlier from the 1920s, housed in an oval porcelain box.

The piece acquired by Collectibility is movement number 28391, which fits directly among the movement series of the museum pieces.

Details of the Collectibility Box (Movement 28391)

• The piece was made in 1866 and originally sold in 1870.
• It originally retailed for 1,250 Swiss Francs, an amount equivalent to “the price of a house at that time”.
• The enamel features a bold Celtic motif in blue and black, which the speaker notes is distinct from most other Patek Philippe designs of that era.
• The lid displays a delicate, dreamlike Lake Geneva scene, typical for a souvenir of the region.
• The bird’s emergence is triggered by a side slide. The purely mechanical action involves the bird’s feathers glinting, wings flapping, the tail swaying, and the beak opening and closing in perfect sync with the melody.
• The box contains secrets, including a hinged front panel that reveals the signature “PC Philippe and company” and the serial number. There is also a secret compartment to hide the key used to wind the mechanism.

The video concludes by stressing that the appearance of one of these boxes on the market is a “historic event”. They are not just curiosities, but offer a glimpse into Patek Philippe’s early dedication to exploring mechanical and decorative advancements beyond watchmaking.