Patek Philippe main hands come in a variety of different designs, and through there do not appear to be hard and fast rules based upon dial design, or movement/case numbers, there are some observations that hold generally true:
Subsidiary seconds pieces with Breguet style numerals correspond most often to leaf (feuille) hand styles, though we see spade and dauphine hands examples. Patek Philippe 570 Breguet Numerals (L-R nr. 922936, 922875, 828712) Images: @goldberger, Phillips, Sotheby’s
Center seconds, with either Arabic or Roman numerals, utilize pencil hands, as generally do railway-track dial designs. Patek Philippe 570 Center Seconds (L-R nr. 861893, 864493) Images: Phillips, Patek Philippe Museum
Arabic numeral dials that are not Breguet style and with subsidiary seconds are paired with leaf or pencil hands. Patek Philippe 570 Arabic Numerals not Breguet (L-R nr. 966667, unknown) Images: Christies, @johnbehalf
Dials with no numerals and only baton indicies are paired with dauphine hands. Patek Phillipe 570 Baton Indicies (nr. 728029) Image: Phillips
The Patek Philippe 570 came with one of four manual calibers (please excuse the “-” versus the use of “12’’’120”:
– 12-120 PS (PS: subsidiary seconds, “Petite seconde”)
– 12-120 SC (SC: center seconds)
– 12-400
– 27 SC
The most common movement found in the Patek Philippe steel 570 is the 12-120 PS. Patek Philippe Cal. 12-200 (clockwise from top left, nr. 922875, 925053, 929848, 965109) Images: Phillips, Henry’s, Phillips, Phillips
This caliber was developed under Patek Philippe’s Technical Director, Jean Pfister, and replaced the prior 12-ligne LeCoultre previously used in the Reference 96.
The next most common is the indirect center seconds, the 12-120 SC, produced in combination with Victorin Piguet and included an additional mechanism connected to the existing 12-120. Patek Philippe 570 Cal. 12-120 SC (L nr. 861893, R nr. 861906) Images: Phillips, Quinns
I have seen one example of a steel 570 with the 12-400 movement: Patek Philippe Cal. 12-400 (nr. 728029) Image: Phillips
The 12-400 was introduced in 1949.
Lastly, I have found one reference to a steel 570 with 27 SC movement, but no image is shown. This movement succeeded the 120-120 SC.
If you know of any examples with image, please contact me.
There are so few stainless steel Patek Philippe 570 sales at auction, it is challenging to see crisp any price trends, though the direction is clear. The chart below will is difficult to view due to the outlier sold in May 2021 at Phillips for an incredible 3.3m CHF.
You may use the filters in the table at bottom to view data for a subset of case numbers, and this will filter the price trends chart as well.
Please contact me if you know of any other pieces, have serial numbers to contribute, or corrections.
Using the filters below will update both the table and chart. For sale prices, filter by 'Sold' status. Separate Auction vs Dealer sales as Auction prices are publicly known while Dealer prices may have been negotiated lower than posted. 'NFS' pieces show shared purchase prices without original sale source detail.
This section takes an enjoyable detour into the world of Patek Philippe “form” watches.
Included are a number of rare timepieces: pendant hearts, pendant balls (Boule de Geneve), a scarab beetle brooch, backpack pocket watch, and wristwatches in the form on a chameleon. Of these, I believe all are unique (please let me know if you find otherwise) with the exception of the Patek Philippe Reference 1252 “Chameleon”, of which at least 3 are known to exist.
I believe there to be nine known heart-form pendants. Each heart pendants is unique, through all key-wound and of the same shape and size (the ones with images found are all hunter cases), and were produced in a period of time from the mid/late-1850s to the mid-1860s. It is interesting to see the same retailer (Hessenberg) for at least two of these pieces given their rarity.
Movement number: 15331
Case number: 15331
Manufacture date: 1858
Calibre: 9”, heart-shaped
Signature: dial, case and movement
Material: 18k gold, red garnets, pearl, enamel, blued steel hands
Dimensions: length 27mm, width 25mm
Sale date: November 26, 1864
Last public sale: Antiquorum, Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces, Geneva, 12 May 2019
Last public sale price: CHF 32,500
Last public comments: in original tortoise shell covered fitted box with winding key Prior sale: Art of Patek Philippe, Geneva, 9 April 1989
Prior sale price: unknown
Prior sale comments: in this auction catalog a different sized caliber (16′) and also heart size (36 x x23 mm) are noted
Currently: this watch is currently owned by FutureGrail
Patek Philippe Heart Pendant: 15331
Movement number: 16129
Manufacture date: 1859 per Extract
Calibre: 10” (movement signed)
Material: 18k gold, amethyst, diamond, enamel
Dimensions: diameter 27mm
Sale date: Unknown
Last public sale: Christies, Important Watches, Hong Kong, 29 May 2008
Last public sale price: HKD 247,500
Patek Philippe Heart Pendant: 16’129
Movement number: 16217
Case number: 16217
Manufacture date: 1859 per Extract
Calibre: 9’, heart-shaped
Cuvette: signed AMW, numbered (per Christie’s sale, below)
Signature: dial, case and movement
Material: 18k yellow gold, diamond rose, enamel
Dimensions: length 29mm, width 22mm
Sale date: August 5, 1868
Last public sale: JP Timepieces (and here)
Last public sale price: USD 20,900
Last public comments: in original box Prior public sale: Christie’s, Important Watches, 15 November 2010
Prior public sale price: CHF 10,625
Patek Philippe Heart Pendant: Movement No. 16.217, Case No. 16.217
Movement number: 16219
Manufacture date: c.1854 per catalog, but movement would date to 1859
Material: 18k gold, red tourmaline, pearl, enamel
Retailer: Sackermann Hessenberg & Co, Frankfurt
Dimensions: length 27mm, width 25mm
Sale date: Unknown
Last public sale: Antiquorum, Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, Geneva, 16 October 2005
Last public sale price: CHF 26,450
Patek Philippe Heart Pendant: 16219
Movement number: 25089
Manufacture date: 1864 per Extract
Calibre: 9”, heart-shaped
Cuvette: signed and numbered for the retailer and maker
Material: Gold, garnet, diamond, enamel
Retailer: Hessenberg & Co., Frankfurt
Dimensions: length 32mm, width 24mm
Sale date: December 9, 1864
Last public sale: Sotheby’s, Important Watches, Geneva, 11 May 2008
Last public sale price: CHF 43,000
Last public comments: one hand missing, service required
Patek Philippe Heart Pendant: 25089
I am not sure why the following break with the numbers of other heart pendants: Movement number: 6965
Manufacture date: unknown
Calibre: 9”, heart-shaped, 10 jewels, key winding
Material: 18k yellow gold, rose diamonds, blue enameled covers, blued steel hands, white enamel dial
Sale date: May 23, 1854
Source: Illustrated in Patek Philippe by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, First edition, p. 108 & 109, pl. 17a-c. (also referenced in Christie’s and Sotheby’s)
