Only four examples of the Patek Philippe reference 1518 in stainless steel are known to exist, and this week, two of them changed hands in what may be the most extraordinary moment in modern-day watch collecting…
On Thursday, November 6, Monaco Legend Group confirmed the private sale of its 1518 in steel for an undisclosed sum, with an asking price in excess of 20 million US dollars, to an esteemed European collector. Just two days later, on Saturday, November 8, Phillips Watches sold another of the four known examples at its Geneva auction for €15.2 million, cementing the 1518’s place among the most valuable wristwatches ever made.
First launched in 1941, the Patek Philippe 1518 was the world’s first serially produced perpetual-calendar chronograph, a complication that displays the day, date, month, and leap years while automatically adjusting for the length of each month. The vast majority were made in gold, but four are known to have been completed in steel, a metal that was rarely used for complicated watches of that era.
The sale announced by Monaco Legend Group marks a deeply personal milestone for its Chairman, Davide Parmegiani, who first owned this particular example in 1997. “This was the biggest private deal I’ve ever closed,” he said, describing the transaction as a journey that took the watch around the world before finding its new owner. Over his 40-year career, Parmegiani has handled all four known steel 1518s; a record unmatched in the collecting world.
Reflecting on this landmark achievement, Monaco Legend Group Chairman Claude Cohen stated: “With an unparalleled eye for quality and authenticity, Monaco Legend Group is now recognised as the benchmark for collectors, connoisseurs, and industry professionals worldwide. This historic sale reinforces our reputation as a trusted leader at the very highest level of the market.”
These twin sales underscore the 1518’s mythical status, often compared to a Ferrari 250 GTO or a Da Vinci painting for its combination of rarity, provenance, and cultural allure. For many collectors, it represents the ultimate achievement and the so-called “endgame” of watch collecting.
