DESCRIPTION:
WW - Patek Philippe, Genève, Beta 21, ref 3597, circa 1970, quartz, 43mm x 42mm to lug tips, original 18K yellow gold screw back case, leather strap, original champagne sunburst dial with applied baton indices, 13J cal B21, sweep-seconds similar to that of an Accutron, s#2741722, triple signed. Includes extra NOS Patek strap. The Centre Electronique Horologer (or CEH for short) was formed in 1962 by a consortium of 20 big brand watch manufacturers including Patek Philippe, Omega, Piaget as well as numerous others. With the pooled resources of the major Swiss brand the boffins over at CEH developed the Beta 1 in 1966, the first quartz-controlled movement made in Switzerland. Shortly after, in 1967, they improved on the design with the Beta 2, which at the "Concours Chronométrique International de l'Observatoire de Neuchâtel" won first prize for setting a new record for accuracy in a wristwatch movement. In 1969, the final production model was introduced, the Beta 21. The consortium agreed that 6,000 movements would be manufactured and distributed to the brands that participated. That year at the Basel World Fair, several companies introduced their newly designed quartz watches to market to great praise. However, the excitement at Basel soon faded upon Seiko's launch of the much thinner more reliable Astron that utilized a stepper motor system instead of the much bulkier Beta 21 that utilized a vibration motor, which resulted in poorer battery life and a perfect sweep-second like that of the Accutron. By the mid-1970s, the Beta 21 was nothing but a novelty from the past, historically significant but a dinosaur in contrast. Few working models have survived over the years mostly due to the fact that a great number of the watches were made in large chunky gold cases which have since been scrapped.
CONDITION:
Mvt: GRO, excellent cosmetic mvt condition overall, no oxide; nearly flawless dial with light spotting on gold indices; mint hands; unpolished case shows very little wear, several light dings on back from improper use of a case wrench; signed crown shows hardly any wear; good glass crystal.
ESTIMATE:
$15000
-
$25000
PRICE SOLD:
$12500
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