Patek Philippe

Ref. 1415 was first launched in 1939. According to our research, Patek Philippe made just over 80 examples of the Ref. 1415 in yellow gold. The present example belongs to the third series of the reference, distinguished by its dial configuration, hour markers, and hands. A period advertisement for the watch noted, "For men with international interests, it is indispensable." Indeed, the world time mechanism is one of the greatest successes of watchmaking, and Patek Philippe's contemporary offerings, such as Refs. 5110 (see lots 140 and 325), and are clearly inspired from these early models. The 'Heures Universelles' function of Ref. 1415 operates via the rotating bezel. When the bezel is rotated so that the home city is at the 12 o'clock position, and the watch is set to the local time zone, the 24-hour indication adjusts automatically so that one can see the current time in 41 world cities. Because the case, dial, and movement are all integral to the technical function of the watch, Louis Cottier, who was the the creator of the World Time, supervised the production of each element. Louis Cottier (1894-1996) was born in Carouge and attended the Horological School of Geneva before going to work for his father and horological mentor Emmanuel Cottier (1858-1930). Like his father, Cottier was a very talented mechanical genius and went on to develop numerous patents that changed the face of watchmaking. Reacting to the realities of the Great Depression, Cottier saw a niche in high-end watchmaking and focused his talents on the development of complicated watches. Foremost among these discoveries was his development of the world time mechanism in the 1930s. This invention would inspire some of the most iconic Patek Philippe complications.