38 Patek Philippe A very rare and highly attractive, Beta 21, wristwatch in yellow gold, with Extract from the Archives.

Estimate: € 20,000 –⁠ 40,000

The Quartz Revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s significantly transformed the Swiss watchmaking industry, as brands faced stiff competition from Japanese companies mass-producing affordable, battery-powered watches. During the early development of quartz technology, Patek Philippe, along with other manufacturers such as Rolex, Omega, and Piaget, began exploring quartz movements and collaborated to establish the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) in 1962. The CEH introduced the Beta-1 movement in 1966, followed by the revolutionary Beta-21 movement in 1969, which offered remarkable accuracy with a deviation of only five seconds per month. The participating brands collectively agreed to manufacture 6 000 Beta-21 movements to be distributed among the group. The present timepiece, reference 3603-2, also known as “Grande Ellipse” or “Elletrico”, together with references 3587 and 3597 were amongst the largest rectangular wristwatches ever made by Patek Philippe. Available in either yellow or white gold with Ateliers Réunis cases, the dials were made by Stern Frères from massive 18K gold plates. Extremely fascinating, the reference 3603 - “dash two”, such as the present example, is the designation for watches with the “tubogaz” type solid 18K gold bracelet, whilst the 3603 had a leather strap and the 3603-1, was fitted with a “oyster” style bracelet. Preserved in great overall condition, the present timepiece showcases a visible hallmark to the case band and monogram emblem to the outside case back.