Patek Philippe’s legendary masterpiece is here! The unique model 3448J “no moon phase display” prototype watch – the only model 3448 watch with a leap year display on the dial, will be listed in the Christie’s Hong Kong [Exquisite Watches] auction to be held on May 22, 2021. This watch of great historical value was once a private collection of Alan Banbery. Who is he? Former Patek Philippe Sales Director Alan Banbery joined the Patek Philippe team in 1965. He was the most influential person in Patek Philippe in the second half of the 20th century, second only to Henri Stern and Philippe Stern of the Patek Philippe family. On the 10th anniversary of his joining the Patek Philippe team, he was given this watch in 1975, and he has kept it in his private collection for nearly 25 years since then.
The Reference 3448 Automatic Perpetual Calendar is one of Patek Philippe’s most sought-after classic models from the 1960s and 1970s. The Alan Banbery watch is particularly unique among all the Reference 3448 watches because its moon phase display function has been converted to indicate leap years, its provenance is well documented, and it is a specially commissioned “non-moon phase display” watch. The Reference 3448 watch, which was launched on the market in 1962, was the first automatic perpetual calendar watch on the market at that time. It is equipped with the famous 27-460 movement of the Reference 3448, which is one of the most sophisticated and complex automatic winding movements in history. According to documents, a total of 586 pieces were produced, most of which were made of gold, while only 130 were made of white gold. So far, only two platinum versions and only one rose gold version are known. The estimated auction price will be between HK$24.8 million and HK$40 million, which is expected to set a new auction record for this model when it is auctioned in May this year.
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