C.1948 vintage Patek Philippe Geneve Ref.425 “Tegolino” rectangular manual winding watch with enamel dial in 18KYG

Description

Vintage. No box or paper but a Passions box will be given and archive of certificate by the factory.

This Patek Philippe Ref.425 was launched in 1934 and made in a variety of configurations in gold and platinum with production ending in 1971 which was a very long life span of 37 years for a watch model. Along with the iconic Calatrava reference 96, the reference 425 is considered as one of the most popular vintage models by Patek Philippe.

It was nicknamed Tegolino with it’s resemblance to an Italian snack usually topped with chocolate.

The 18ct yellow gold curved case has been lightly polished before to factory specs and movement serviced. The original plexiglass crystal is a faceted version which offers a distorted optical illusion when viewing the dial at a angle and this further enhances the curvature of the case. This faceted crystal was a popular design on rectangular or square watches from 1930s to 50s. The dial is a traditional artisan craft work known as hard enamelling where the plate is engraved then filled with black enamel powder, baked and polished then lacquered and finally the gold appliqué added. This ensures that the markings on the dial last vs printed dials. It takes about 20 winds to full.

According to the factory archive, this watch was manufactured in 1948 with subsequent sale on 12 October 1948.

This watch has an engraving on it’s back which adds to it’s provenance and was given to W.M. Welsh dated April 1948 as seen on the image of the back. It is very possible that this watch was registered a few months later after Mr Welsh received his Patek.