A 1946 yellow-gold Patek Philippe reference 1436 sold for A$450,000 including buyer’s premium at First State Auctions in Sydney in November 2023, making it the highest-value watch sold at an Australian auction at that time. It no longer holds the reported record: DMARGE reported that a Rolex Daytona sold for A$612,000 including premium in 2026.
What sold in Sydney in 2023?
First State Auctions sold the Patek Philippe reference 1436 during the week of 20–24 November 2023. Time+Tide reported the result on 24 November as A$450,000 including buyer’s premium; Boss Hunting reported the auction estimate as A$400,000–800,000.
The watch was a manual-winding split-seconds chronograph in yellow gold, manufactured in 1946. Boss Hunting says this example was sold in October 1949. Time+Tide described it as being in “pretty tidy” condition, serviced by Patek Philippe, and accompanied by an Extract from the Archives. Those details are reported sale context, not an independent inspection. Time+Tide also described the buyer as an anonymous Melbourne-based collector.
Contemporaneous reporting called the result the highest price paid for a watch at an Australian auction. It was a record claim tied to the Australian auction market and the date of that sale, not a claim that the watch was the most expensive Patek Philippe or reference 1436 ever sold worldwide. Time+Tide’s sale report and Boss Hunting’s 2023 coverage provide the contemporaneous account.
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#1 Best Overall
- Pre-Loved Condition: Excellent; Light scuffing and wear to leather strap
- Length: 9.0" (22 cm),
- Made in Switzerland
- Buckle closure
- Signature upon delivery required
Does it still hold the Australian record?
No, according to later reporting. In July 2026, DMARGE reported that First State Auctions sold a Rolex Daytona reference 126598RBOW for A$510,000 hammer, or A$612,000 including the reported 20% buyer’s premium. On that basis, the Rolex surpassed the Patek’s reported A$450,000 total. DMARGE’s 2026 report identifies the Rolex result as the later record.
The figures should be compared on the same basis: A$450,000 was the Patek’s reported total including premium, while A$510,000 was the Rolex’s reported hammer price and A$612,000 its total including premium. DMARGE later estimated the Patek’s hammer price at roughly A$375,000; the original result page was not available to verify that figure, so it should be treated as an outlet’s estimate rather than an auction-house-confirmed hammer price.
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Why is the reference 1436 notable?
The reference 1436 is a split-seconds chronograph, a complication that lets the wearer time two events that start together but finish at different moments. Its additional split-seconds hand can be stopped independently to record an intermediate time, then catch up with the main chronograph hand. The 1946 example was manually wound.
Production figures are estimates, not a settled count. Time+Tide reported fewer than 200 examples of the reference, while Boss Hunting put the number at about 140. The sources do not establish an exact total, so the figures should remain attributed rather than combined into a single number.
Rank #3
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How does the sale compare with international reference 1436 results?
International sales help show why an auction record needs context, but these results are not direct substitutes for one another. The examples differed in provenance and signatures, took place in different years, and were reported in different currencies.
| Reported sale | Reported price | Important context |
|---|---|---|
| Christie’s Hong Kong, May 2023 | HK$1,638,000 (reported by Boss Hunting as US$320,884) | Reference 1436 example; the cited coverage does not identify special provenance or a retailer signature. |
| Gübelin-signed example, May 2021 | HK$5,500,000 (reported by Boss Hunting as US$916,850) | The example was signed by Gübelin, a distinction from an otherwise comparable unsigned watch. |
| Henry Graves Jr.-owned example, November 2021 | HK$13,450,000 (reported by Boss Hunting as US$2,421,000) | Notable provenance: it had belonged to Henry Graves Jr. |
| 1939 example in Hong Kong, 2023 | More than A$2.6 million, as reported by Time+Tide | Different example and provenance; Time+Tide’s report does not provide a directly comparable breakdown here. |
The figures above are the amounts reported in the cited coverage, not currency conversions calculated for this article. They should not be treated as like-for-like valuations or as evidence that every reference 1436 is worth a similar amount. Provenance, signature, condition, documentation, service history, sale date, and auction terms all affect how a result should be interpreted.
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What the headline means for a buyer or seller
An auction record is a result for a particular watch, sale, place, date, and price basis. It is not a reliable standalone appraisal for another watch—even one with the same reference number. A buyer comparing reported prices should check:
- whether the figure is the hammer price or includes buyer’s premium;
- the currency and auction date;
- the watch’s condition, originality, service history, and accompanying documentation;
- any notable provenance or retailer signature; and
- whether the record claim concerns an Australian auction or an international sale.
For the 2023 Patek, the reported A$450,000 total, archive extract, service, and condition describe that specific sale. They do not establish a current market value for another reference 1436 or for vintage Patek Philippe watches generally.
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