Patek Philippe Deck Clock, 1881, Retailed by Bailey, Banks and Biddle

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Fine Arts, Antiques and Jewelry Online Auctio...

By Aspire Auctions

Feb 10, 2023 - Feb 19, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-02-10 15:00:00 2023-02-19 01:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Arts, Antiques and Jewelry Online Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/aspire-auctions/fine-arts-antiques-and-jewelry-online-auction-12236
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• Lot Description
  Accompanied by the Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives. Movement No. 63'010. 19" lever escapement. Manufactured in 1881, retailed on March 21, 1882. Since man decided to venture into the vast oceans, knowing his exact location was paramount. Science divided the world into an invisible grid of latitude and longitude. The compass and astrolabe enabled mariners, along with a celestial map, to plot a useable course, but with many limitations in accuracy. Longitude was essential. However, there was no way to find longitude accurately. One could miss the destination or return to port, by hundreds of miles. Science found the answer. If you knew the latitude/longitude and time of your home port at departure, by taking readings at intervals, you could calculate longitude and make corrections. The earth rotates once every 24 hours. Looking from one of the poles, one hour is fifteen degrees of rotation. A detailed chart could split the 15 degrees into more precise locations. Knowing how many hours from the home port, you knew what longitude you were closest to. Plot this as well as your latitude reading, and you had a very good idea where your ship was located. The key was an accurate time keeping device that maintained the exact time of your home port. Trial and error would create such an instrument, eventually becoming the familiar marine chronometer. Patek was just another watch company in the early days, driven beyond their contemporaries. Their goal has always been the continual advancement of horology. If they saw a market, they took on projects, to offer the best product using advanced techniques of that time. This deck clock, whose function is to provide extremely accurate time, would spend months in a "run in" room, with daily variables recorded, to establish a catalog of the instruments performance. Every effort to reduce standard chronometer performance of +4/-6 seconds in 24 hours of operation, was attempted. This clock is tangible proof of their effort and accomplishment. It is precisely adjusted to compensate for constant positional variations of a ship at sea, so adverse conditions do not effect needed accuracy. Built to a level of excellence expected for any mechanics, bearing the Patek Philippe name. It would not be until 1964, when a satellite in space, relegated all marine chronometers to a backup role. The Navy still teaches celestial navigation at their academy with instruments similar to this deck clock. The term "clock" is simply a carryover of a reference to the first successful piece of horology that won the Longitude Prize of 1714. An 80 mm silver dial has stylized Arabic numerals for all chapters in black paint. A continuous ring at the dial's edge with hash marks for minutes. Blued Breguet "pomme" type minute/hour hands and blued stick type sub hand with marquise. Geneva stripped, nickel finished bar type movement, with houndstooth winding gear. Cap jewels are on the escape wheel and balance cock; it appears to be also on the lever pivots, difficult to see through the exposition glass on the case back. This would bring the jewel count to twenty-one. The only marks are "special" and the address of the retailer. To be a chronometer, requires positional and temperature adjustments. Serial number 632010. Patek is known to use Lepine ebauches as a foundation.The movement is mounted in gimbals, allowing the clock to seek it's own level. View and Bid on AspireAuctions.com

  Condition

  Running at inspection, but not tested for accuracy. For it's age, very good overall. The mainspring appears to have taken a set. If removed, it would look like a hairspring, that being tight concentric coils. If your intention is to plug a hole in your Patek collection, or set aside as an investment; no action is required. If your intention is to use the instrument, it would be to your benefit to replace the mainspring, and have the instrument serviced and timed; to achieve the ultimate potential the instrument is capable of.