Sothebys has some exceptional watches on offer for their December 7th NY sale.

From the much sought after TV watch from Patek (that was a failure initially) to a nice Beyer signed Patek 3940 (from my hometown Zurich) not to mention many nice and rare gold Paul Newman Daytona. But my clear choice in the entire NY sale would be the 3448 from Patek.

I have studied the 3448 for some time now.

The 3448 at Sothebys is exactly how I would want a 3448 to be: A super sharp case, and an early bead dial with the bead or pearl minute markers. Immediately when I saw this 3448 and held it in my hand – I noticed how well preserved the watch is – especially the case.

There are several reasons why I like this 3448 in particular, besides the strong case. It is the bead dial. And the Patek signature has the ‘lower A‘.

Bead dials are sought after. Why? For one – most of Pateks exceptional watches (think 2551, 2526, 2438, 96, 570) had these bead dials. They are very attractive. Secondly early dials on the 3448 that are bead have a different signature. If you look closely below the signature in the ‘A’ in Patek is different and has the line in the letter A crossed further down than on later versions. I like the lower line A. It is FAR more attractive than later versions. This lower line A is also typical of early 1940s and 1950s of Patek. They are the most beautiful in my opinion.

Now you might correctly ask: Where is the catch here? An exceptional 3448 with a super strong case and early dial is estimated at only $80-120’000. Surely the watch must be mis-priced?

Well in my opinion the watch is priced below fair value but allow me to point out two flaws (one is minor and the other more serious): First and most importantly the dial seems to have been professional cleaned and this does allow for some minus points. This in my opinion is the main reason why the watch carries a very reasonable estimate. The second point (and this is admittedly extremely minor) is that the 3448 was born with a different crown (the wonderful PP or ‘qp’ version). It is a small point but this crown with this watch can make all the difference aesthetically (look here for comparison)*.

Having said that – I think the super sharp case (just look at those lugs above in the main picture) makes up for a lot and I expect the watch to easily sell above the high estimate. 

More information on this Patek 3448 can be found here.

*(Picture credit: John Behalf). Main picture credit: Sothebys.

Here the 3448 Sothebys New York watch on my wrist. The 3448 is perfection in design. 

by Edmond Saran