Patek Philippe

whit
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Once you're gone, it really doesn't matter. It may go to

a grandson, son in law,  or may be sold to fund college, buy a house, etc.. In any event, it will do nothing but help.

I have a brief "next generation" story. About ten years ago, I received a call from "Jay". He asked about getting a Patek he inherited from his father who inherited it from his father, repaired. The crystal was broken and he wanted to know if we could handle such a repair and fix the watch as well. I asked him to describe the watch and asked questions to determine if we were talking about a genuine Patek or if it was a fake. The case is yellow, not square, not round, then okay maybe a cushion, dial was not white but not cream ... okay determined it was silvered, the hour markers were Arabic but the 4 was gone and the 9 was partially missing, on a Speidel twist-o-flex expansion band. Then he said there was a little piece that stuck out on the side and if you moved it, the watch would chime the time.

This is the point when I started wondering, could this be? I'm in North Carolina, this can't be. So, I asked him to bring it by for me to look at. He said his schedule  might not allow it. I asked his occupation, in construction so I assumed he was a builder or developer. About three or four days later, he showed up with the watch and we chatted for a few hours and I looked at the watch to find out it was indeed the real thing. He was in construction alright, but he was one of the guys with the hammer. I asked him how the watch came to be damaged and he told me he was using a jack hammer and a piece flew up and broke the crystal. He took it off and threw it under the front seat of his pick up truck and forgot about it until two years later when he was cleaning out his truck and found it along with coffee cups and who knows what else. I asked how he got it and he told me his grandfather was a surgeon in Pittsburgh and evidently saved the life of a very wealthy individual and was given this in appreciation. When his grandfather passed away, his father received it and wore it until he passed away but just before while in the hospital, he took it off his arm and gave it to "Jay" who wore it for 5-6 years before breaking the crystal.

He couldn't afford to get an estimate much less have it repaired. The watch didn't function with the exception of the minute repeat mechanism. Finally, I asked him what he wanted to do with the watch  ... put it up until he could afford to have it repaired or sell it ( this actually took some time because I just wasn't that blunt ). I explained what he had and it represented significant money and he decided to let us sell the watch for him. Sixty days later, we presented him with a (for him) life changing check.

If I had not experienced this, honestly I don't know whether I believe stories like this ...  but that watch changed this man's life. Thinking later, it could have very easily been thrown away because of its appearance. It would have been at home in a box of old broken dirty watches or someone taking advantage of him.

Got an extract, 11''' minute repeater, lever escapement, manufactured in 1930, sold 1945.

Sorry for the length, I really thought it would be brief and I left out everything I could but the important facts.

Just being a part of this was incredible, seeing the expression on his face when he read the amount of the check and the circumstances of how all of this came about. I look back at this experience often and  will never forget it.

It would be my hope my son will be in a position to keep the watches I have given him but if he finds himself in a bind, they are there to help. That's all I can do, it's for him and his well being.