The World's Largest Patek Philippe Ellipse Collection

Welcome back to Collectability. Today we have the amazing opportunity to present to you the world's largest collection of Patek Philippe golden ellipse. What you're about to see has never been shared anywhere, either in person, in a museum, or on a YouTube video. But now you have the chance to see this incredible collection. And if you have more ellipse than I'm about to show you, then we need to be friends. So please reach out and comment below because I'd like to learn about your collection, and I think we can really have a lot of fun comparing and contrasting this amazing breadth of production from Patek Philippe. So let's look inside the box. Here we have a Patek Philippe sales presentation case, which was made specifically to show Patek Philippe ellipse watches. Let me just remove the lid, and let's take a look at what's inside. The first thing you'll note are keychains. Keychains were made by Patek Philippe all the way back from the 1970s through the 1990s, and I have two reference 9602 keychains. This is the white gold version, and then we have a yellow gold version. You'll notice the keychain with the engraving, and it's fun to note that you could specially request Patek Philippe to put your initials or the initials of a loved one on that blued gold background. It's just so beautiful to see that today. We also have cufflinks, the favorite jumbo cufflinks. I've got white gold and a yellow gold set before me. We also have a zodiac pendant. This was made in the late 1970s, and they were made typically at that time for women to wear, and there were two different sizes, the jumbo and then the miniature size. Here we have the jumbo with Virgo on this big lavish heavy chain. Now, let's talk about ellipse watches. First, I have a reference 5738 in platinum from 2008. This came out to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ellipse in that important year, and it's interesting to note that it was another 10 years until the rose gold counterpart, the reference 5738R, came out, and that was in 2018. The smaller size of the the most modern ellipse is the reference 3738 backslash 100, and in this case, J for yellow gold. These are both automatic watches, and today I am seeing more and more people wear ellipse because these automatics are just so comfortable to wear, useful, functional, and you put it on your wrist and you're ready to go. But let's go back in time a little bit more. First, I'd like to look at these two reference 3987 backslash 10s. I have a white gold and I have a yellow gold. Now, I challenge you to find a Patek Philippe that has more Patek Philippe DNA than this reference. We have a hobnail bezel, we have a 215 mechanical caliber, we have a bracelet that's made fully in-house by Patek Philippe, and the classic ellipse shape. This particular reference, I think, is one of those underappreciated beauties in the line until you have that on your wrist and you can just really learn to appreciate and understand the workmanship that went into each of these watches. In the center, I have two rose gold ellipses. First, we have the 5738 rose, which we just referenced, and here I have a 3738 backslash 100 in rose gold with the autumn gold dial. This watch just lights up beautifully with that brown brownish tone, and it's fun to have it compared to a black dial so you can kind of see the two different looks that rose gold can present. The last two watches in the box, I have a 3747 line 17J. This is a quartz ellipse from the late 1980s, and it's a piece of the cream dial, these applied gold batons, and it's hugely heavy on the wrist. It is a thick bracelet, but it is a quartz watch that makes a big statement. And next to it is my favorite new addition to the collection. This is a 3584 line 1G. It is a white gold ellipse that came out in the 1970s, and here you can see the pattern on the dial. It's almost reptilian in inspiration. It matches perfectly the mesh bracelet pattern, which gives this really whole full look, and it is also 1970s and just classic ellipse all around, but not something that you see often. But wait, there's there's more. I have more ellipse in front of me that I can't wait to show you. First is a reference 3580 in steel. This is the only steel automatic ellipse that's ever made. It has the same movement that you see with the Nautilus, and it's something that I think is one of the more interesting ellipse watches because it has a back wind rather than a side wind. So this is something for the connoisseur to own and to wear. For someone who prefers a more classic ellipse, here I have a reference 3848J from the late 1970s, and this is the look. When people think of a blue gold dial ellipse, this is the classic look, which was in the line for over 30 years. Yet there are some pieces within the ellipse line that are a bit more surprising. One of the great things about the Patek Philippe ellipse is that it is the canvas of design for so many different craftsmanships within the lineage of Patek Philippe. There's bracelet making, there's dial making, of course there's enamel, there's gem setting, but there's one art, one craftsmanship that is my favorite, and that's what's inside of this orange box before me, the Patek Philippe skeletonized ellipse. Now when you look at a skeletonized ellipse, you could really just see workmanship at its finest, and the shape of the ellipse just allows you to see even more of that movement. As you look closely at this watch, you're able to literally look through the watch and see hand engraved in 18 karat gold the most exquisite details. And this fresh to market reference 3880 is a piece that I just acquired and I'm so excited. This piece has just absolute perfection in terms of condition, in terms of rarity, this is one of the early examples that has lugs as opposed to that t-bar lug that you see later on with the 3880. And this particular piece has its original strap, original buckle, it is in my opinion the holy grail of 1980s ellipse watches. Now Patek Philippe didn't just make watches, they made keychains, they made tie pins, this elaborate line of offerings, all imaginable types of jewelry. And this particular box shows beautiful white gold, smaller size, these are much smaller than the jumbos we looked earlier, cufflinks that were set with diamonds. And we won't just stop there because I have another box. This is an identical pair in rose gold, also diamond set. Now just look at the, I can't really call it a dial, but look at the the face of the cufflinks, it matches the watches perfectly and really it's just a subtle understatement at its best. Within the world of Patek Philippe, having a ring is something that makes quite the statement. And here I have a Patek Philippe ellipse ring from the 1980s. Now this particular piece is a little too small for me to wear on my index finger, but it does make quite the Patek Philippe pinky ring. And this was made originally for a man, but could easily be worn by a woman today. And whenever I come across these rings, I jump at them because not many of these were made. I think there's only a few dozen out there, but at least I've come across to date. Now from one of the smallest Patek Philippe accessories, let's move on to one of the hottest. And here within its original box, I am so excited to show you a Patek Philippe ellipse lighter. During the 1970s, the ellipse was just not a watch line for Patek Philippe. It was a lifestyle line. They made all of these different objets that people can wear and enjoy and use. But the lighter, I think, really captures the spirit of the jet set era. When you would light your cigar or cigarette with this, people would look, they would notice, and know that you have something special. The Patek Philippe lighters were one of the funkiest accessories made during that era. But there's also another option of something that you can put on your wall. And that is a Patek Philippe ellipse clock. These were originally made for retailers. These were, when you went to your local authorized retailer, you'd see these on the wall. But some important VIP clients were also able to special order various customizations. And this has a tiger for an important client from Thailand. Now I also have, as part of the collection, something that you never see. And that is a Patek Philippe subsidiary clock made to work with a master timing system. And you could distinguish these very easily. You could see it has sweep seconds. The quartz versions of the wall clocks that you saw at retailers did not have the sweep seconds. So when you see this and you have it plugged into a master timing system, you hear it ticking every second very loudly. And it's something that's really fun to hear, to listen to, and to own. When you went to a Patek Philippe retailer in the 1990s, you'd see the clocks on the wall in the shape of the ellipse. But you'd also see the mirrors shaped as an ellipse. I have one of these here as part of the collection. I think I may have saved the best for last. Here within this original box, I have a Patek Philippe presentation of a reference 913 ellipse letter opener. This particular work of art is something that I've seen a few before. There's less than 10 that were ever made. Four have surfaced, but this is the only one that has diamonds on the gold. So it is a unique piece as far as we know. The absolute beauty and workmanship of the engraving, the gem setting, and even the dial design. You'll see that hand-cut design in the blue gold is something that is just breathtaking. And it's also functional. Take a collectability envelope. We'll use this letter opener to easily cut the letter open and see what's inside. Ah, a history of the golden ellipse pamphlet. Of course, very appropriate. So there you have it. This is an incredible collection of Patek Philippe ellipse. Is it the world's largest collection? I think it is, but if you know of a larger collection, please let me know. Thank you for joining us, and if you like this video, please like and subscribe on YouTube, TikTok, and also Instagram. Until next time, enjoy the hunt.