Swiss gold Patek Philippe hunting cased lever watch Circa 1940

Gold hunting cased pocket watch by Patek Philippe
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A fine Swiss 18 carat gold manual wind hunting cased pocket watch with sub subsidiary seconds and rare power reserve, circa 1940 Silvered dial with gold Arabic numerals. Plain case.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Signed: Patek Philippe Geneve Swiss
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In 1844 Patek met the French watchmaker Jean-Adrien Philippe, who demonstrated his new invention: the first watch without a wind-up key. Patek and Philippe decided to work together from 1845 and in 1851 their company Patek Philippe & Cie was founded. In 1901 the name was ‘officially Ancienne Manufacture d’Horlogerie Patek Philippe & Cie, S.A.’. In 1932 Patek Philippe was taken over by Charles and Jean Stern, after which the company name changed to ‘Patek Philippe S.A.’. Thierry Stern (4th generation) took office in 2009 as president. The company has 70 patents and produces the entire clockwork in-house. The Sky Moon Tourbillon is the most expensive watch in the world, although it is mechanical (self-winding) and not waterproof. Three copies are made annually. The watch consists of 686 parts and has many complicated functions.
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 Patek Philippe (1839), together with Audemars Piguet (1875), Vacheron Constantin (1755) and A. Lange und Söhne (1845), are considered to be ‘the big four’ in the watchmaking world. The very luxurious timepieces are of high quality and therefore often raise record amounts at auctions.