Patek Philippe Reference 1518 "The Clarin Mustad" at Sotheby's Geneva

Sotheby’s unveils a unique Patek Philippe Reference 1518 with exceptional provenance “The Clarin Mustad 1518”. The world’s first perpetual calendar chronograph watch in rose gold with unique features designed by one of the fathers of modern car engineering. The watch will be presented in Sotheby’s Important Watches auction in Geneva on 5 November.

The 1518 reference by Patek Philippe is one of those few iconic series from which every watch collector dreams of owning an example. The reference is historically important for ushering in the perpetual calendar chronograph in 1941, marking a new horological area which impact still influences watchmaking today. To be able to offer at auction, within this legendary series, a reference that is utterly unique in its design and for that design to have been commissioned by Hans Clarin Hovind Mustad, credited with the invention of the car ignition, is truly exciting. A pioneering watch made for a pioneering man, it’s a perfect pairing sure to thrill watch collectors around the world, especially those keen on this iconic reference.” Mikael Wallhagen, Head of Watches, Sotheby’s Geneva.

This November, Sotheby’s will offer a unique example of the Patek Philippe 1518 Reference which broke new horological ground when it was first introduced in 1941. The current example is not only extraordinary in its design elements but also in its exceptional provenance, having been commissioned by Hans Clarin Hovind Mustad (1871-1948), one of the fathers of modern car engineering, to Patek Philippe in spring 1944 and delivered to him in November that same year. This Patek Philippe 1518 reference – estimated to achieve in excess of 2 Million CHF ($2 Million)  – is one of the star highlights of Sotheby’s Important Watches: Part I auction taking place in Geneva on 5 November.

Clarin Mustad – An Engineer Connoisseur

Although he was at the helm of Norway’s largest and most successful industrial company O. Mustad & Son – the world’s leading supplier of fishing tackle and accessories at the time – Clarin Mustad was, at heart, passionate about engineering, speed and cars. He’d fallen in love with cars on his first car trip aged 21 in 1892 and has remained committed to the advancement of car technology ever since – as a hobby – at a time when the car industry was just nascent and its technology fledgling. He built car prototypes – now in museums – and is credited with pioneering modern car ignition, following a frustrating car trip in his native Norway 1906 when he had to repeatedly stop his car to allow herds of horses to pass by. His invention allowed a driver to start his car engine from his seat rather than by firing up it manually standing outside the car. Such an accomplished modernist, technophile and pioneering spirit could only have found 1518 reference by Patek Philippe irresistible as it would have been, at the time, the most sophisticated chronograph wristwatch available.

1518 - A Revolutionary Reference

Launched in Switzerland in 1941 as the war was raging across Europe, as a star item at the Basel Fair, the 1518 reference is the world’s first perpetual calendar chronograph, birthing a lineage that continues to this day and adopted by all other watchmakers around the world. Although the war stopped Patek Philippe from producing and selling the reference in large quantities, with only 18 examples were made in 1941-42, and another 36 examples in 1943-44, the reference quickly became both sought-after and legendary. The world’s most discerning watch collectors and aficionados of the 1940’s and 50’s owned a 1518 reference, including the most famous boxer of his generation, Sugar Ray Robinson, and American magnate Henry Graves Jr, who was Patek Philippe’s most committed buyer and patron. There is no doubt that well-travelled businessman Mustad would have been aware of the buzz around the reference and coveted his own.

The Clarin Mustad 1518 – Unique Among the Iconic Series

Mustad’s own watch became unique. In 1944, having selected a rose gold model with a pink dial, Mustad requested several bespoke features to be built into his watch. Whereas all 1518 references come with a case finished with thin lugs permitting the attachment of a leather strap or metal bracelet (of the same material as the case), the “Clarin Mustad 1518” is the only known example with “Empire” case produced without lugs, with the bracelet integral to the case. The bracelet was by the prestigious bracelet manufacturer Gay Frères. The rose gold with pink dial – known as a Pink on Pink model – were not the only pink elements, as Mustad also asked for the applied dot hour markers, day and month calendar discs and baton hands to be pink. Baton hands are unknown in any other 1518 reference as they were designed to be leaf shaped. The dial, made by Stern Frères who had taken over Patek Philippe in 1932, was likely a special order given that standard 1518 dials during this period were designed with applied Arabic numerals. The subtleties are further echoed by the enhanced bezel design of this example. The bezel features a larger opening for the crystal, which provides optimal dial visibility. From the profile the bezel is also distinctly different from the standard reference 1518. Inside the case back is engraved ‘Mustad Clarin c/o Benoit SA CH-1820 Montreux Reward-Recompense’ in the event that watch got lost – a clear sign of the importance of this timepiece to its original owner.

Patek Philippe delivered the watch to Mustad in Montreux, Switzerland in November 1944, just over three years before his death in January 1948 at the age of 77. The fact that this example of the series was among the first 54 made during the war (between 1941 and 1944), but also before the reference underwent a subtle design change between 1947 and 1948 with the watchmaker’s signature stamp appearing as Patek Philippe instead of Patek Philippe & Co, adds to the rarity of the watch.

A Rare Series

From 1941 to 1954, a total of 281 reference 1518 wristwatches were made, a small production run by any standards with an average of just 20 watches a year. In accordance with period tastes, Patek Philippe cased the majority of the 281 examples of the reference in yellow gold, while only 58 examples are known to have been cased in rose gold and only four in steel. Of these 58 examples, an exceedingly few were configured like the current example. When cased in rose gold, the reference was most commonly fitted with silvered dials, with only a select few wearing matching pink dials. The end result of this subtle adjustment is a warm attractive aesthetic, unique to this variant. To date, the market has seen only 14 of these ‘pink on pink’ examples.