Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Split-Seconds Chronograph 5004

PATEK PHILIPPE. THE ONLY KNOWN PLATINUM PERPETUAL CALENDAR SPLIT SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH MOON PHASES, 24 HOUR AND LEAP YEAR INDICATION WITH A SILVERED DIAL AND DIAMOND-SET INDEXES

PATEK PHILIPPE. THE ONLY KNOWN PLATINUM PERPETUAL CALENDAR SPLIT SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH MOON PHASES, 24 HOUR AND LEAP YEAR INDICATION WITH A SILVERED DIAL AND DIAMOND-SET INDEXES REF. 5004, CIRCA 1998 Movement: Manual Dial : Silvered with diamond-set Case: 36.5 mm. diam. With: Platinum Patek Philippe deployant clasp, Patek Philippe Certificate of Origin and product literature in leather folder, additional solid case back and setting pin Remark: First time seen at Christie’s , Lot incorporates material from endangered species that is not for sale and is shown for display purposes only. The endangered species strap shown with the Lot is for display purposes only and is not for sale.Upon sale, the watch will not be supplied to a buyer outside Hong Kong with any watch strap.To the best of our knowledge the present lot is fresh to the market and the only known example with this dial. The present 5004 is fitted with an extremely rare silvered dial with diamond numerals as confirmed in the Certificate of Origin. Reference 5004 is considered a modern classic and derives its features from reference 3970, which itself is based on the legendary reference 2499. However, reference 5004 steps up a gear in terms of complication by boasting the highly complex split seconds function. Reference 5004 is roughly one millimeter larger than reference 3970 and also easily recognizable by its oversized split-seconds pusher in the crown. Production of reference 5004 began in 1994 and is today discontinued. Patek Philippe replaced it with two other split seconds chronograph models, both in platinum: the cushion-shaped reference 5951 released in 2010 with in-house calibre CHR 27-525 PS Q and reference 5204, released in March 2012 at the Basel Fair with in-house calibre CHR 29-535 PS Q.