Swiss minute repeating split seconds chronograph Circa 1892

Gold minute repeating split seconds chronograph by Patek Philippe
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A fine yellow gold split second chronograph minute repeating watch, made in 1892, retailed by Tiffany & Co. Manual winding movement, jeweled, minute repeating on two steel gongs.
White enamel dial, painted Roman numerals, blued steel hands, outer track with 1/5 second divisions, 18k yellow gold case, repeating slide and chronograph button to the band, case back engraved with monogram “CV” for Cornelius Vanderbilt, interior case back engraved with dedication to “Cornelius Vanderbilt from His Father July 1893“, case, dial, cuvette and movement signed Tiffany & Co.
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Diameter: 45 mm
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Signed: Tiffany & Co. New York
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Accompanied by a Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming the date of sale in 1892.

The Vanderbilts are instantly recognizable as one of the wealthiest families of America’s Gilded Age. Indeed, Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest man in America until his death in 1877. The present lot was gifted to his great grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, likely during his time at Yale University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1895, and a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1899. 

This timepiece, inscribed for July 1893, also corresponds to the period when his father, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, was rapidly building a monumental Chateau, later coined ‘the finest private residence in America.’ The mansion once stood on the corner of 58th Street and 5th Avenue, where the high end department store, Bergdorf Goodman, now stands.