The famous musician and watch collector Eric Clapton is selling one of the finest of his watches, an ultra rare platinum-cased Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph (the referent number is 2499/100P). Clapton’s gorgeous timepiece will highlight Christie’s sale of important watches in Geneva on November 12. This Patek Philippe masterpiece is described by Christie’s auctioneers as an exceptional collection.
Patek Philippe Platinum Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Watch Owned by Eric Clapton
For example, a rose gold model of the same watch has been sold at auction earlier this year for $2.8 million. Eric Clapton’s watch is expected to be sold for over $4.25 million when it goes under the hammer at Christie’s Geneva Auction.
Launched in 1951, the Patek Philippe’s watch with the referent number 2499 was in production for almost 35 years, during which a total of 349 watches were made. This exquisite timepiece from the private collection of rock legend and Patek collector Eric Clapton is one of only two ever made in platinum case. Further, Clapton’s watch is the only one in private hands. The other one is in the Patek Philippe museum inGeneva. This horological masterpiece will be available at auction this year for the first time since its original sale nearly a quarter century ago.
Eric Clapton
The legendary Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph features the most perfect combination of design, functions, mechanical complexity, as well as case proportions.
Patek Philippe Platinum Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Watch Ref. 2499
As I mentioned before, Christie’s will be throwing down the hammer on this watch on November 12. The auction will be held at the Four Seasons hotel in Geneve. It is the star lot of an auction that is expected to raise a total of over $16 million.
Besides the Eric Clapton’s watch, there are two other historically important platinum Patek Philippe watches in the sale include a unique platinum wristwatch (the referent number is 2458), specially made in 1952 for the collector J.B. Champion, a successful American lawyer and probably Patek Philippe’s most privileged client of the post-war years, and a platinum chronograph timepiece with rare facetted lugs (the reference is 1579). This watch was launched in 1943 and it was available in yellow and pink gold, with few examples cased in stainless steel.
Patek Philippe Ref. 2458 and Ref. 1579
The first one (the reference 2458) is expected to be sold for a value similar to the legendary guitarist’s model 2499, while the latter could fetch between $1.06 and $1.6 million. The sale will also feature one of the finest private collections of antique enameled watches made for the Chinese market.
