Swiss gold perpetual calendar, moon phase watch Circa 1951

Gold open faced lever pocket watch
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A rare yellow gold open faced minute repeating perpetual calendar watch with moon phases, circa 1951. Manual winding nickel lever movement, 29 jewels, two hammers repeating on two gongs, silvered dial, applied yellow gold Roman numerals and baton indexes, yellow gold Feuille hands, blued steel subsidiary hands, subsidiary dials for day, month combined with leap year indication, date and moon phases combined with constant seconds, outer minute divisions, 18k yellow gold case, minute repeating slide to the band, case, dial, and movement signed, started in 1931, completed in 1951.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Signed: Patek Philippe & Cie  Genève
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Accompanied by an Extract from the Archives confirming the year of the movement’s manufacture in 1931 and sale of the timepiece on November 1st, 1951. Together with a Patek Philippe presentation case. The present lot was formerly owned by Stanley H. Arnolt II (1907-1963), inventor, designer, entrepreneur and race car driver. One of his first inventions, an inboard marine engine called the ‘Sea-Mite’, was so fast that on a foggy morning in 1938, Arnolt made a record trip on a 13 foot boat from St. Joseph, Michigan to Chicago in less than four hours. So impressed were bystanders along the Navy Pier in Chicago that they dubbed the man ‘Wacky’ Arnolt for his fearless manner, a name that he kept for decades to come. In 1952, Arnolt introduced a new company, S.H. Arnolt, Inc. to import and distribute foreign cars. The cars were true hybrids consisting of British mechanicals and Italian bodywork. His company oversaw the final assembly of these unusual cars and managed the U.S. sales and distribution. One can imagine ‘Wacky’ Arnolt with his trademark cigar admiring this fine Patek Philippe Ref. 699 for its radial calendar layout and meticulous engineering.