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Patek Philippe
Joe DiMaggio's Patek Philippe Breguet Dial
130
The Details
Condition
Very Good
Box
No
Case Size
33mm
Material
Yellow gold
Complications
Chronograph
Year
1947
Papers
No
Dial Color
White
Movement
Chronograph (Manual)
Condition
Very Good
Case Size
33mm
Complications
Chronograph
Year
1947
Dial Color
White
Box
No
Material
Yellow gold
Papers
No
Movement
Chronograph (Manual)
Listing TW-BXT6R9
$1,200,000
+ $100 insured shipping within: United States of America
+ Sales tax where applicable. Purchases of $25,000 or more are completed by bank wire with no payment processing fee.
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Palm Beach, Florida
Description
Via Eric Wind: We are thrilled to offer one of the most important Patek Philippe watches ever for sale from arguably the greatest baseball player of all time: Joe DiMaggio’s Patek Philippe chronograph reference 130 in yellow gold with Breguet numerals. It is arguably the greatest known Patek Philippe tied to any professional athlete and certainly any baseball player. Joe DiMaggio played his entire 13-year career in the Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees. DiMaggio was one of the most clutch, winningest baseball players of all time. Over his career, he led the Yankees to ten pennants and nine World Series titles. It was arguably the greatest run of championships in Yankees history and all led and made possible by the greatness of the Yankee Clipper. He was the Michael Jordan of his day - or perhaps it is more fair to say that Michael Jordan was the Joe DiMaggio of his day. DiMaggio began his career as center fielder in May 1936 playing alongside Lou Gehrig. He earned American League MVP in 1939, 1941, and 1947. During 1941, DiMaggio would achieve the incredible streak of a hit in 56 consecutive games. This remains the longest consecutive-game hitting streak in MLB history to this day! Throughout the May 15 to July 16, 1941 streak, he batted .408 with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. According to the Extract from the Archives, this timepiece was produced in 1947 and was sold on December 12, 1948. The dial features beautiful hand-cut Breguet numerals which are confirmed in the Extract notes. It features the tachymeter scale demarcated for miles on the perimeter of the dial. This example features the spade hand configuration which was popular in the American market during the late 1940s. The watch is powered by the prestigious calibre 13-130 which was featured in many of the most important chronographs from Patek Philippe in this period. The case measures 33mm in diameter, and wears large at 41mm lug-to-lug. The 18k yellow gold case was produced by Emile Vichet, the Geneva master casemaker and features the Poinçon de Maître number 9. (Stainless steel reference 130s were produced by Wenger, Crossier or Dubois.) Emile Vichet produced the gold cases for the legendary Patek Philippe reference 1518 perpetual calendar chronographs and the early reference 2499 perpetual calendar chronographs. It is estimated that 180 examples of the reference 130 were produced in yellow gold with Breguet numerals. Approximately 55 examples have come to market over the years. The watch was prominently a part of the Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition held at Cipriani in July 2017. That was the first time I ever had the pleasure of seeing this watch and my jaw was on the floor when I saw it in the display case - a legendary watch that I hoped to see one day. The watch was originally sold by the estate of Joe DiMaggio at Hunt Auctions in 2006 (where the proceeds were donated to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation) and at Christie’s in 2017. It has only had three owners in its 78-year history: Joe DiMaggio, the buyer of the watch in 2006, and the buyer of the watch in 2017. There is a photo from 1949 at the Stork Club of Myrna Dell and Joe DiMaggio where it appears DiMaggio is wearing his Patek Philippe Reference 130. The case is in extremely strong condition and is possibly unpolished. It is certainly the strongest reference 130 chronograph in gold that we have held with crisp and seemingly untouched hallmarks on the side of the case by 9:00 and the the back of the top right lug. The dial is in excellent condition as well and exhibits only light signs of cleaning / sanding presumably from during a service by Patek Philippe. The watch comes with an Extract from the Archives of Patek Philippe. We do not know the service history, but it is running well. This is certainly one of the best Patek Philippe reference 130 examples known and among the most important Patek Philippe wristwatches of all time. It is a connoisseurs’ watch for those who have an admiration for Patek Philippe. It is also an iconic watch for collectors of important baseball and athletic memorabilia. It is a privilege to hold it and see it, let alone to offer it for sale. This is your chance to be the fourth owner of an iconic watch - the reference 130 chronograph - made by an iconic manufacturer - Patek Philippe - and originally owned by an icon - Joe DiMaggio. Only one person can say they own Joe DiMaggio’s Patek Philippe.
