Patek Philippe Unsolved Mysteries: the Pope, the Captain and the Generalissimo.

Welcome back to Collectability. Today we're going to discuss Protect Belief Unsolved Mysteries The Pope, The Captain, and The Generalissimo. But before we get started, please push that subscribe button now, and also comment below after you watch this video. It truly means the world to us. So, there are a few things as much fun as researching a Protect Belief discovery and trying to unravel the mysteries. These are literally time capsules, horological messages in a bottle. Some might say they are just secrets waiting to be told. And sometimes we have the family lore to help us search to uncover these mysteries and sometimes we have little auction listings. So we're always looking for clues with each individual time piece. Sometimes we only have the extracts from the archives to tell us this key piece of evidence as we uncover the stories. So today, I now have three fresh-to-market pieces that I'm in the process of researching. I wanted to share what we know about these pieces and perhaps you can help us uncover even more secrets about each of these time pieces. Now, we all know Google is a great start, but it often takes much more than that to uncover secrets when researching a watch. I personally spent hours on newspaperarchive.com searching old obituaries and I've spent days deciphering cryptic messages, monograms, and more using all the resources I could find online. But there's another place to look which is quite useful, and that's your local library. And I've also spent hours looking at historical archives in local libraries and sometimes we find some very interesting secrets. I sometimes long for the days of card catalogs and searching old microfiche, but those days are mostly gone and we have digital resources to help us research. So, here in front of me, I have three Patek Philippe watches that are unsolved mysteries. Each tells a story from the past of wealth and power. So, now let's take a look at the Pope, the Captain, and the Generalissimo. First, let's discuss the Pope. It is so exciting to find a piece like this. More than a decade ago, I wrote an article titled Popes and Their Pateks for Hodinkee in which I was marveling at a singular Patek Philippe that's at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. At the time, it was believed to be a one-of-a-kind creation. But now, over ten years later, a second fresh-to-market piece has surfaced. A Patek Philippe watch made specifically for Pope Leo XIII. And today, Collectability is thrilled to unveil this extraordinary discovery to the world. This isn't just a watch. You could say it's a holy grail of horology. Let's take a look. There he is, Pope Leo XIII. And this monumental 50 millimeter pocket watch from 1886 was first sold in 1888. And it's a breathtaking fusion of Patek Philippe artistry, casemaking, and dial design. The hand-chased and meticulously engraved bezel paired with this decorately engraved bow showcase a really incredible level of workmanship. Now, the dial itself, let's take a look, is also a masterpiece. Look at those enamel Roman numerals and then the delicate gold hands which were crafted out of gold completely by hand. There's no CNC machines made in the production of this watch from the 19th century. This is the pinnacle of craftsmanship from the era. And then there's that rose gold turban crown where you wind this watch. And that is such an elegant touch. And it's identical to the crown you see on the example housed at the Patek Philippe Museum. But what sets this piece apart from the museum's version is its completeness. The watch displayed in the museum, which you can see in the book, Timepieces for Royalty, is sadly missing its original movement. And for reasons unknown, the movement was replaced sometime after 1936. And this is the example at the museum. But this newly discovered timepiece is original and intact. It comes with its original movement, number 56911. And it also has the extract from the archives, which we have here, which I was happy to recently receive. And it describes the watch perfectly, including the chiseled case band and bezel and how it's engraved, Leon XIII Jubilee Silver Medal. Now the effigy featured on the watch was crafted from a commemorative medal issued for the 10th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's papacy. And I was very curious to try to find one of these medals, and thanks to eBay, I was able to receive one of these gilted medals, which shows Pope Leo XIII and on the reverse this beautiful altar scene that you can see also on the watch, on the inside of the case. So whether Pope Leo XIII personally wore this timepiece or presented it as a gift, we don't know. It is truly a secret and I think a work of art worthy of the Vatican. But let's look a little bit at the life of Pope Leo XIII. He was born Giacocchino Vincenzo Pecci in Italy, March 2nd 1810. And he rose to prominence within the church, guided by his Jesuit education and some political savvy. And on February 20th, 1878, he took the name officially of Leo XIII and immediately set to work preparing relations between the church and Europe's great superpowers, namely Germany and England at the time. But perhaps most notably, he sought to address the needs of the working class, which had grown increasingly disillusioned with the church. His landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891, I remember studying this in school, earned him the title of the Pope of the Workers. And this pope was truly committed to human rights in particular. He passed away in Rome on July 20th, 1903, leaving behind a legacy spanning 25 years of leadership. And he also left behind all of these watches, which were absolutely fascinating to learn about today. So, I was curious to find one of these original medals, and that's what I was very excited to have to match it with the watch. But the mystery about this watch is not only about the timepiece, it's also about who owned it, and also what this watch was truly used for. Was it something that he had? Was it a commemorative gift? Now, you see, Pope Leo XIII was a big believer in exorcism, and famously published a prayer against Satan that only priests could recite. It could only be used with the permission of the bishop. And it was used, quote, whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations, even storms and various calamities, end quote. So you could see that Pope Leo XIII had some superpowers, you could say. And maybe this coin, or even this watch, could have some power that might be beyond time. Now, let's look at the next timepiece. I'm going to move Pope Leo over to the side, and now we're going to discuss Captain Al, which is quite the pivot. Now, let's take a look at the Captain Al watch, because this is something you may not have seen before. Now, when I first saw this timepiece a few weeks ago, I was in complete shock, because I've never seen a Patek Philippe, in particular, minute repeater with this type of engraving. It has a boat on it, it has a yacht, and then it has all these names on it. So the secrets were starting to be told as we started researching what is this boat and who are the people's names on this particular watch. But when we find a piece like this, one of the first things we do is listen to the minute repeater. So let's set it and have a quick listen to what it sounds like, and then we'll see what the watch can tell us. Absolutely beautiful sound. But what does this watch mean? What does it represent, and who are the people that are mentioned on this caseback? So when I first saw what's written on this dial, which is to Skipper Al, third race, 1939, San Francisco to Honolulu, and then it quotes Brill, Brilliant, it became quite clear that this yacht was named the Brilliant. So my switch quickly brought me to Mystic, Connecticut, to a museum I used to go to as a child, and there was a boat that I've actually been on called the Brilliant, which happened to be a yacht. I was convinced that this was the boat that I was on as a child. And that Brilliant boat is still on view today in Mystic, Connecticut. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that it was the wrong yacht, but I was determined to figure out which yacht is pictured on this watch. Through the discovery of this yachting magazine, which I have here in front of me, from 1946, the secret was revealed. The boat that's shown on this watch is named the Brilliant. It was actually a 49-foot yacht named the Brilliant that came in third place in this incredible Transpac race, the Transpacific race, in 1939. A quick word about that race. Originally called the Honolulu race, it was eventually called the Transpacific and now the Transpac, and it's one of the world's oldest and longest ocean races. The Transpac goes back to 1906, the year of the San Francisco earthquake. This reshaped history in a way because that race had to be moved due to the earthquake to start from L.A. rather than San Francisco. Originally, a gentleman named Clarence McFarland from Honolulu invited some of the best West Coast sailors to race from California to the Hawaiian Islands. Once they moved the race from San Francisco to L.A., it really took off. When the race ended, it culminated just off the coast of Diamond Head Lighthouse, which is east of Honolulu, and covered a challenging 2,225 nautical miles. In 1939, the race moved back to San Francisco and ended in Honolulu. I was recently in Honolulu and I looked right off the water of where this race ended near Diamond Head and I could only imagine what it was like to be in Honolulu in 1939. Before the jet age, it would have been even more exotic, more beautiful, more amazing, and it would have been incredible seeing a fleet of these yachts racing across the Pacific and ending at this beautiful location. Now, the Brilliant came in third place in 1939 in the Transpac with an impressive time of 11 hours and 21 minutes. It was just 11 minutes behind first place. I can think of no better way to celebrate such an achievement as acquiring a beautiful Patek Philippe such as this. From this magazine, we can learn a couple things about this race. First, you can see what these boats look like. They were stunning and quite fast for the era. As I dug into the magazine, I was able to find specifically the Brilliant. I was beyond excited once I acquired this magazine to find the name of the Brilliant and to see how it came in third place in 1939. You'll see the name after the Brilliant says A.L. Marston. A.L. is the Captain Owl that we've been looking for. A secret that's just been shared. Once I knew the name of A.L. Marston, this watch comes more to life. You can see how it was to Skipper Owl. When you open the watch, this is just so exciting to see. You'll see the monogram of A.L. M for A.L. Marston. This particular piece is still a mystery to me of how it ended up in my hands. How did it come from this amazing race, this incredible bit of yachting history, and end up with collectability? I just love the winding roads that some of these watches take. It's just a true honor to have a piece like this with such a rich history. Now, moving on from Captain Owl, I have something that is extraordinary to share with you today. Last but not least, I would like to show you a watch featuring the Generalissimo. The term Generalissimo means the absolute superlative of a general. The highest of the highest rank. It was used to describe such historic figures such as Joseph Stalin, Francisco Franco, and most famously, the man depicted on this watch, Chiang Kai-shek. Now, he was nicknamed the Generalissimo, and I recently picked up a book by Jay Taylor titled The Generalissimo, which goes deep into the history of Chiang Kai-shek, who was born in 1887 and passed away in 1975. In short, he was a Chinese military and political leader who served as the head of the Republic of China and later the KMT party. This is the political party that ruled mainland China from 1927 to 1949. This is before he relocated to Taiwan. After training in Japan, he became a key figure in the KMT party. He rose to power after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925 and Chiang famously led the Northern Expedition in 1926, which unified much of China under the KMT by 1928. During the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s through the 1940s, he fought against Japanese invaders, he received the support from the Allies, and after World War II, he faced off against the Chinese Communist Party. In the Chinese Civil War, he was defeated by Mao Zedong in 1949. He is a figure that, as I learned, is hugely controversial. Historically, there are many different opinions about his leadership, but most agree he was an authoritarian leader. He did focus on the modernization and economic development, but he also leaned heavily on martial law. He ruled Taiwan until his death in 1975, and as I said, his legacy is mixed. He is admired for Taiwan's economic growth and stability, but criticized as a dictator who really failed to preserve the Republic of China on the mainland. I know there's much more to this story, and here's not the place to discuss his legacy, but we are here to discuss the watch and to uncover the mystery of this timepiece in front of us. When I first saw this timepiece, I didn't even know who was on the watch. My colleague, Dave Lewis, very quickly identified it as Chiang Kai-shek, and that's when our research began. We immediately ordered this extract from the archive, and we anxiously waited for it. It turns out the watch dates from 1924 and was sold first in 1926. I was really curious to see if this portrait miniature would be described on the archive, and it's not, and that is the mystery. Because if we look at this famous picture of Chiang, this is from the 1940s in full Generalissimo garb, and that is the exact photo enamel depiction that you see on the watch. This is from the 40s. So who added this image to this watch and why? It turns out for his supporters, this image is iconic and can be seen in Taiwan everywhere and by many Taiwanese around the world. This is a photograph that's very, very memorable. But I really believe the secret of this watch may be uncovered by the box. I want to show you two things about this original box of this watch, and maybe you could help me uncover the secret. The first is you'll see, if we can look closely, this little label here. To me, it looks like it says General Geit or Geil, G-E-I-T or G-E-I-L, and then the number 34. Complete mystery to me why. But I do think this means something, especially what we see on the opposite side in the sticker of this original paddock box. It says, Section D, and I believe first prize in French. Première Prix. Could this have been a prize or an award for maybe a shooting event or some sort of contest? I would appreciate any help you could offer of what you interpret this box as meaning, and I do believe this watch was some sort of prize which was awarded in the 1940s, and I'm very curious what you think, and I challenge the collectability community to help me research this unusual watch. I want to thank you all for watching today, and I hope you enjoyed this overview of the Pope.