17th century time travellers wouldn’t feel entirely out of place in 19th century Britain. Despite the omnipresent impact of the Industrial Revolution, the world would still look and feel familiar. Time travelling to the 20th century, though, would feel borderline alien; the cacophony of artificially illuminated streets humming with the sounds of cars, planes, phone calls, TV screens, and fax machines would send one into a head spin.
A time-travelling individual could hypothetically bring their 18th-century pocket watch into the 19th century and still feel a sense of comfort in following the norm in personal timekeeping. However, to those accustomed to carrying a pocket watch, wearing a watch on the wrist in the 20th century would appear quite bizarre.
Like across much of society, norms in timekeeping were on the verge of change. Patek Philippe presciently anticipated the changing headwinds by making the first Swiss watch for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary in 1868 – an intricate ornamental wristwatch with diamonds and decorative floral elements. By 1968, Patek Philippe had a century-long catalogue of classically circular, square and rectangular watches.
Just as Countess Koscowicz's watch looked of its time, so did the Golden Ellipse when Patek Philippe launched the iconic design in 1968. Famously inspired by the divine proportions of the ancient Golden Sector, the Golden Ellipse also championed the defining characteristics of Modernism—notably, a movement away from the Victorian ideal and an embrace of individualism, experimentation, and abstraction in its place.
The watch for Countess Koscowicz showed the future of personal timekeeping as it moved from the pocket to the wrist. Meanwhile, the Golden Ellipse expressed the growing appreciation for the historical, artistic, and emotional characteristics embedded in watchmaking during an era of uncertainty for the future of the mechanical watch.
Launched on the eve of the Quartz Crisis, the Golden Ellipse was to become the canvas for Patek Philippe to showcase its savoir-faire. And in doing so, preserving traditional watchmaking while the rest of the industry suffered from the great upheaval ushered in by mass produced battery-powered quartz watches.
Advertising at the time heavily featured the Golden Ellipse. Patek Philippe’s messaging made evident that it saw the expanding Golden Ellipse universe as an opportunity to transcend watches in the eyes of the enthusiast from mere tools to desirable objects of cultural merit. "You choose a Patek Philippe as you choose a precious jewel: for the sheer enjoyment of owning something beautiful and rare. People who merely need to know the time of day will choose a watch – not a Patek Philippe" reads a Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse advertisement from 1983.
Over the 60 years since Patek Philippe introduced the original Golden Ellipse Ref. 3548 in 18 ct. gold with a cobalt-blue dial and milanais-style bracelet, the manufacture has iterated over numerous styles of bracelet and dial combinations, frequently tweaking case proportions in the process. Early examples include the diminutively sized Ref. 4134 from 1970 and the Ref. 4137/3 with a single link chain bracelet from 1973, both with diamond-set bezels and sized 19.8mm x 22.3mm (compared to the 27mm x 32mm proportions of the original Golden Ellipse). By the end of the 1970s there were 65 different versions of the Golden Ellipse and a growing collection of Golden Ellipse inspired cufflinks, jewellery, lighters and accessories.
The Golden Ellipse readily became an international style icon, what we would today refer to as an “if you know, you know” watch. Admittedly, not the first collection that typically comes to mind when enthusiasts think of Patek Philippe, but one that represents the quintessence of the family-owned watch manufacture. As President of Patek Philippe, Mr Thierry Stern said when celebrating the Golden Ellipse’s 50th anniversary in 2018, “It’s one of those watches that shows you how to make a Patek Philippe. No gimmicks, just purity and beauty expressed through simple design.”
This century, Patek Philippe celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 in platinum, and to celebrate the 50th in 2018, two variants, Ref. 5738R with an ebony black sunburst dial, grande-taille (oversized) rose gold case measuring 34.5mm x 39.5mm, and the platinum Ref. 5738/50P with a black grand feu enamel hand-engraved dial and black onyx cabochon set into the crown and "ELLIPSE D'OR 1968 – 2018" engraved on the case back.
With the launch of the Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/1R-001 in 2024, Patek Philippe embraced one of the defining characteristics of earlier references in the collection, the chain bracelet. Fifteen years in development, the fully polished rose gold chain-style bracelet comprises 363 elements, of which more than 300 links are individually mounted by hand, like a three-dimensional puzzle. The bracelet pays tribute to the master case makers of the 20th century while addressing the main technical shortcoming of chain-style bracelets, notably the difficulty in making adjustments.
Minor chain-link adjustments traditionally require the skilled hands of a case maker, which presents an added degree of difficulty when passing down one's chain-link bracelet watch to the next generation. The discreet innovation behind Ref. 5738/1R-001 is the adjustable links that allow resizing without cutting the bracelet - a fantastic meeting of tradition and innovation on an oft-overlooked design.
Patek Philippe has also embraced the versatility of the Golden Ellipse in recent times, like the Calatrava, to showcase the Manufacture's rare handcrafts. Notable releases include the Golden Ellipse ref. 5738/50G-035 Keukenhof depicting the Keukenhof flower gardens in Lisse, Netherlands, in vibrant cloisonné enamel, and the wabi-sabi-esque Golden Ellipse ref. 5738/50G-027 Trees in the Mist.
The longevity of the Golden Ellipse traces its success back to the purity of the design. Patek Philippe has expanded and experimented with numerous references over the decades, yet the spirit of the Golden Ellipse is as strong as the day it was launched in 1968. Regardless of one's motives for lusting after the Golden Ellipse – be it the divine inspiration, the heritage, the meticulously crafted cases or the strikingly minimalistic dial, wearing a Golden Ellipse speaks volumes of one's taste in watches. Or as Patek Philippe said in a 1980s advert, "A Patek Philippe doesn't just tell you the time. It tells you something about yourself. And it will tell your great-grandson something about you."
Want to discover more about the Patek Phillipe Golden Ellipse and its other collections? Check out our catalogue to learn more about the Manufacture or drop us a message to enquire further.