Ben Clymer Presents: Ep. 8 – The Vintage Patek Episode for John Reardon

Welcome to a new podcast series from Hodinkee called Ben Clymer Presents. Hosted by Hodinkee's own founder, Ben Clymer Presents offers a special chat between Ben and subject experts from the world of watches and, sometimes, elsewhere. It's a limited series that will run weekly for the next ten weeks, with new episodes every Wednesday in both video and audio. Want the video? Swing by Hodinkee's YouTube channel (or watch below). Just want the audio? It's being published to the same podcast feed as Hodinkee Radio, so check your feeds or subscribe wherever you find your podcasts (might we recommend Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or TuneIn).

//Episode 8 // 

For this Patek Philippe-focused episode, Ben is joined by John Reardon, the founder of Collectability.com (and former Hodinkee contributor). John is an expert in all things vintage Patek, and the two talk about where the brand's auction fascination started and how that has been reflected in a broad collection of special references (think: 3700 to 5711, and the likes of the 5970, 3970, 3448, 5270, 5070 chronograph, and even the legendary 2499).

It's a walk down memory lane as both Ben and John recall exciting moments in their history with Patek's watches alongside the more macro trends that have seen some references shine while others wait for a spot in the limelight. We hope you love the episode – a big thanks to John for coming on the show; you can find more of his work at Collectability.com. 

Show Notes:

00:10 John Reardon (and Collectability)

2:00 "The Art Of Patek Philippe" Antiquorum auction,  1989

2:52 Wall Street Journal Patek Auction Story

5:45 The Platinum 2499 from Philippe Stern, Antiquorum, 1989

6:53 Eric Clapton's Patek Philippe 2499p auction

10:00 Rolex Prince

10:30 Patek Philippe 2480R with a 9-90 caliber 

11:18 Patek Philippe Calatrava 570

11:38 Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700 and 5711

16:39 Patek Philippe 5970

20:48 Patek Philippe 3970

21:31 Patek Philippe 3940

23:05 Patek Philippe 5270

25:56 Patek Philippe 3448 (and ref. 3450)

28:30 Patek Philippe 130 Chronograph (and ref. 533)

28:50 Patek Philippe 1463

29:34 Patek Philippe 5070 Chronograph

30:37 Patek Philippe 5170 Chronograph

31:25 Patek Philippe Musical Ellipse Pocketwatch Ref. 921J (skeletonized, 1976, shown in notes on Hodinkee.com)

33:40 Patek Philippe 2499, 1st Series, "Serpico"

34:09 Patek Philippe 2526