Description

This Patek Philippe Amagnetic in 18k yellow gold is triple-signed by the prestigious Swiss retailer Gübelin, dating from the early 1960s and presented in good vintage condition with light signs of age. The champagne dial carries three signatures, “Patek Philippe Genève” above, “Amagnetic” in elegant italic cursive at centre, and “Gübelin” at the subsidiary seconds register below, and the Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 9 o’clock give the dial a distinctly mid-century warmth that baton-only examples cannot match. This is among the rarest configurations of one of the rarest references Patek Philippe has ever produced: a gold-cased Amagnetic, sold through one of Switzerland’s most celebrated jewellers, with the anti-magnetic designation printed on the dial.

The Patek Philippe Amagnetic – A Scientific Calatrava

The Amagnetic is the watch that Patek Philippe’s Advance Research department should not, by any reasonable definition, have made. Anti-magnetic watches were tool watches, the domain of stainless steel, utility dials, and functional engineering. Patek Philippe made one anyway, in gold, to the same finishing standards as its most precious dress pieces, and called it the Amagnetic.

The reference was introduced in the late 1950s alongside the stainless steel ref. 3417, which has since become one of the most celebrated Patek Philippe references among serious collectors. But it is the gold-cased versions, the ref. 2570 and its successor, the ref. 3410, which represents the rarest and most extraordinary expression of the Amagnetic concept. Where the steel 3417 was conceived for scientists and engineers working in environments of strong electromagnetic fields, the gold Amagnetic was conceived for a different kind of client: someone who required the technical protection of the anti-magnetic calibre but had no intention of wearing anything other than gold. In the early 1960s, that client would have walked into Gübelin in Lucerne or Zurich and found this watch waiting for them.

Gold Amagnetic examples are produced in tiny numbers, of the related ref. 2570/1 in yellow gold with “Amagnetic” on the dial, only sixteen examples are known to exist, and of those, only a handful bear a retailer’s signature. The ref. 3410 that succeeded it was similarly scarce. Any gold Amagnetic that surfaces today represents a genuinely finite object: there are no more being made, and the number in existence is known and counted.

The Calibre 27-AM 400 – The Most Advanced Manual Movement Patek Philippe Ever Made

The movement powering this watch is the Calibre 27-AM 400: an 18-jewel manual winding movement that represents the apex of Patek Philippe’s hand-wound calibre development. Launched in 1960 as an improvement on the original Calibre 12-AM 400 of 1958, the 27-AM 400 features a Gyromax balance with a self-compensating Breguet overcoil balance spring, a gold pallet fork, a Durochrome escape wheel, and shock absorbers, all components selected and specified to resist magnetic interference without compromising the precision finishing that the Geneva Seal demands.

The movement is stamped twice with the Seal of Geneva, the only movement in Patek Philippe’s catalogue at this time to receive the double stamp, reflecting the additional verification required by its anti-magnetic specification. At the time of its introduction, the calibre was designed to withstand up to 450 oersteds of magnetic field strength: more than four times the level required to stop a standard watch. A field of 1,200 oersteds would be needed to halt it entirely, and even then, once removed from the field, the watch would resume running.

The soft iron inner case that houses this movement provides a second layer of protection: a Permalun (soft iron) capsule that shields the movement from magnetic fields before they can reach the components. The exterior of the watch is yellow gold; the interior is engineering.

Gübelin – Switzerland’s Most Celebrated Jeweller

The dial of this watch carries the signature of Gübelin, the Lucerne jeweller founded in 1854 that remains, in the twenty-first century, one of the most respected names in Swiss luxury retail. Gübelin is a famous Swiss watch retailer established in 1854 in Lucerne, Switzerland, and remains one of the biggest retailers of high-class watches and jewellery in Switzerland today, still owned by the same family, now run by the sixth generation.

Gübelin’s relationship with Patek Philippe produced some of the most collectible double-signed pieces in horological history. A Gübelin signature on a Patek Philippe dial is not merely a retail mark; it is a quality endorsement from a house whose own reputation was built on selecting only the finest examples. During the 1950s and 1960s, the larger and most established jewellers were occasionally allowed, with the agreement of the watch brand, to co-sign the dial, a privilege reserved for those whose standing was considered commensurate with the maker’s own.

On a gold Amagnetic, the Gübelin signature transforms an already extraordinary watch into a specific, documentable object: a piece that passed through one of Switzerland’s great retail institutions on its way to its first owner, and that carries that provenance on its dial for as long as it exists.

The Dial

The champagne dial is in good condition with light signs of honest age, unrestored and entirely original. The “Amagnetic” signature in italic cursive sits at the centre of the dial, below the Patek Philippe Genève signature and above the subsidiary seconds register at 6 o’clock, where “Gübelin” is printed as the retailer’s co-signature. Arabic numerals at 12, 3 and 9 o’clock, a dial configuration that gives the watch a distinctly mid-century character, are complemented by applied gold baton indices at the remaining hour positions. The original gold lance hands are sharp and undamaged.

Specifications

Brand: Patek Philippe

Model: Amagnetic

Reference: 3410

Year: circa 1960–1965

Case material: 18k yellow gold

Case diameter: 34 mm

Bezel: Polished yellow gold, smooth

Dial: Champagne dial, Arabic numerals at 12/3/9, applied gold baton indices, “Amagnetic” cursive signature, Gübelin retailer co-signature at subsidiary seconds

Hands: Gold lance hands

Movement: Manual winding – Calibre 27-AM 400, 18 jewels, double Geneva Seal, Gyromax balance, soft iron inner case (Permalun)

Triple signature: Patek Philippe Genève / Amagnetic / Gübelin

Condition: Good vintage condition with light signs of age consistent with era

Accessories: Watch only (no box or papers)

Warranty: 1 year warranty

Availability

This vintage day-date automatic watch is available through Vintage Times Amsterdam.

For further information or high-resolution images, please feel free to contact:

Vintage Times

Vintage Times Amsterdam is a small watch boutique who mainly deals online and with a select group of private collectors. We are constantly looking for rare vintage timepieces and try to present the best condition available. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact for more information about this watch or other timepieces from our collection. We ship worldwide and also welcome you for a visit at our office in Amsterdam.

Vintage Times

email: [email protected]

tel / app: +31 6 4 1111 044