Swiss 18k gold and enamel open faced lever watch Circa 1889

Lever with royal cypher of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria by Patek Philippe
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A fine and rare Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel open faced keyless lever watch with the royal cypher of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria and fitted box bearing the same cypher, circa 1889. Mechanical lever movement, 15 jewels, wolf’s tooth winding, bimetallic compensation balance. White enamel dial with black Roman numerals, blued steel spade hands, outer railway minute and Arabic five minute divisions, subsidiary seconds. Hinged case back decorated with the Royal cypher of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria in gold and white enamel over guilloché translucent red background inside an oval surround. Case, cuvette and movement signed and numbered, dial signed. Comes with original certificate.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Signed: Patek, Philippe & Co Genève
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This watch is formerly the property of Ferdinand I, King of Bulgaria.
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Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Born in Vienna on 26 February 1861 as Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the aristocrat was to become the ruler of Bulgaria from 1887 until 1918. Son of prince August of Saxe-Coburg (1818-1881) and his wife Clémentine of Orléons (1817-1907), he grew up in a cosmopolitan environment and moved in Austro-Hungarian high nobility circles. Serving as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, he was elected “Knyaz” or Prince Regent by the Grand National Assembly of autonomous Bulgaria on 7 July 1887. His title changed to King or Tsar on 5 October 1908 when the country declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
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The marriage of Ferdinand I to Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma produced four children: Boris III (1894-1943), Kyril (1895-1945), Eudoxia (1898-1985) and Nadezhda (1899-1958). Following the death of his first wife after giving birth to their last child, Ferdinand I married Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz in 1908, the year in which he was crowned King of Bulgaria. He abdicated in 1918 to live in Coburg, Germany, the craddle of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, where he died in 1948.