Comments:
Who knows Patek Philippe's ref. 1416 (not 1415) ?
Patek Philippe's World Time ref. 1415 HU is fairly well known and having been able to try one on last June in Paris was a wonderful experience for me (cf. A pure dream of a watch).
credit: Sotheby’s (1), @goldberger (2-3), @onbehalf (4), @blackbough (5) & Davide Parmegiani
credit: @goldberger
credit: @minutesdevoyages
credit: Christie’s
credit: Antiquorum
But its sibling, ref. 1416 HU, is far less known.
It differs from ref. 1415 HU by two distinct elements:
- It was produced in only 3 examples in 1939, whereas ref. 1415 was produced in about 115 examples from 1939 to 1954.
- It has "claw-from" or "bean-shaped" lugs with straight sides, whereas ref. 1415 has rounded teardrop lugs.
Here are the three existing examples.
A/ REF. 1416 HU (caliber 12-120 HU)
1/ Movement no. 176122, Case no. 618819
31 mm yellow gold case, trident-style hour hand and 29 world cities on bezel
Sold by Sotheby's in 2015
credit: Sotheby’s (1), @goldberger (2-3), @onbehalf (4), @blackbough (5) & Davide Parmegiani
Interestingly, this first example of ref. 1416 HU was made for Philip Knight Wrigley, the famous American chewing gum manufacturer:
credit: @goldberger
And this particular example, easily recognisable with its trident hour hand and flat lugs, was featured on an advertisement for the US market, claiming that "this wrist watch is for the man whose interests go beyond the horizon".
The advertisement also notes that the watch could be made out of platinum, but no ref. 1416 in platinum is known yet (and only one is known for the ref. 1415).
credit: @minutesdevoyages
2/ Movement no. 176123, Case no. 618820
31 mm yellow gold case, moon-style hour hand and 30 world cities on bezel
Sold by Christie's in 2010
credit: Christie’s
3/ Movement no. 176125, Case no. 618821
31 mm yellow gold case, moon-style hour hand and 30 world cities on bezel
Sold by Antiquorum in 1999 and by Christie's in 2000.
credit: Antiquorum
To fully appreciate ref. 1416 HU, it is interesting to compare it with different examples of ref. 1415 HU.
31 mm pink gold case, moon-shape hour hand and 29 world cities on a completely flat bezel.
Sold by Antiquorum in 2001 and coming up for sale next November 8th 2025 at Phillips.
31 mm pink gold case, moon-shape hour hand and 32 world cities on a slightly convex bezel.
credit: @masalux
B/ THREE EXAMPLES OF REF. 1415 HU
1/ Movement no. 962483, Case no. 655713 (1948)
31 mm pink gold case, moon-shape hour hand and 29 world cities on a completely flat bezel.
Sold by Antiquorum in 2001 and coming up for sale next November 8th 2025 at Phillips.
credit: Phillips (1-4) & Antiquorum
2/ Movement no. 921707, Case no. 632661
3/ Yellow gold, 3rd series
Flame hour hand and 41 world cities on a completely flat bezel
credit: @masalux
Thanks for reading.
Best, Emmanuel
Yes, the teardrop lugs are very nice.
But on John Goldberger's wrist (cover photo), I like a lot the contrast between the round case and the straight lugs.
I think it’s fixed to the case as any other rotating bezel.
The video below will give you an idea of how it works.
Best, Emmanuel one other difference between the two is the inner bezel
1416 has the 20.8 mm diameter bezel
1415 has the 20.5mm diameter bezel
something to look out for when buying one
1415 has the 20.5mm diameter bezel
something to look out for when buying one
Do you mean "dial opening diameter" (compared to the 31 mm total diameter)?
I didn't know there was this 0.3 mm difference.
Thanks for your insight.
Best, Emmanuel
Thanks for your insight.
Best, Emmanuel
the external diameter of the 24 hr anti clockwise rotating disc
did Wenger the casemaker also make the 1416's-as they did for the 1415's
Ok, that's what I thought and called "dial opening".
The case maker is never specified, unfortunately, and the opened caseback never shown, so I couldn't tell.
Definitely!
And I quite like the contrast to the round case brought by the straight side of the lugs.
But both 1416 and 1415 are true dream watches for me.
Best, Emmanuel
But both 1416 and 1415 are true dream watches for me.
Best, Emmanuel
Thanks Emmanuel for identifying the BIG differences 👍
I have not seen 1416 but have handled 1415 in the metal
Both are lovely. Really appreciate both types of hands on 1416 and 1415 !
Your collector friend has such incredible 1415 examples.
I couldn't envy him more! ☺️ Did you manage to convince him to become a member?
Concerning the 1416, I really like the contrast between the rounded case and the lugs with straight sides. But with only 4 examples known, I will probably never see one in real life.
I wish I could afford the 1415 which is for sale right now in Paris, but these grail pieces are completely out of my reach!
Best, Emmanuel