PREVIEW: WATCHES 14 MARCH

This Art Deco style Patek Philippe gold rectangular wristwatch from the Gondolo Collection is a leading highlight of Noonans' 14 March Watches auction. Made c.1995, the manual winding piece has 18 jewels and is stamped with the Geneva seal, no. 1849825.

Gondolo is a name whose associations date back to the earliest days of Patek Philippe in the late 19th century.

The company's origins date back to 1872, when Patek Philippe created its first piece, a silver pocket watch that it sold to Brazilian jewellers Gondolo & Labouriau of Rio de Janeiro.

It was a sale that launched a 55-year relationship between the two firms, which helped Patek Philippe establish itself as the pre-eminent luxury watch brand in Brazil via the Gondolo.

So exclusive was the watch that ownership was restricted to a special club of 180 collectors, who were each charged 10 Francs a week for 79 weeks to pay for their purchase.

In a brilliant piece of marketing, Gondolo & Labouriau created even more of an allure around the watch by holding a weekly lottery in which one of the exclusive buyers would have any outstanding payments cleared.

It was the ultimate early lesson in brand building and was such a success that the name Patek became interchangeable for “watch” in the upper echelons of Brazilian society.

Patek Philippe were inspired once more by this historic success in 1993, when the company launched a new collection named the Gondolo to house their non-round watches – many of which are vintage inspired.

The strong lines, timeless style and geometric simplicity of the later Gondolo watches, such as the one in this sale, are a contemporary interpretation of the Art Deco style, which coincided with one of Patek Philippe’s own golden ages.

"In introducing the Gondolo, Patek Philippe has reinterpreted – with a subtle infusion of modernity – some of the historical pieces that are part of its heritage and may be admired in the Patek Philippe Museum," said Noonans' specialist Joanne Lewis.

The watch offered here carries the reference 5024, which was launched in 1994, with production ceasing in 2006. Offered with its presentation case, the estimate is £5,000-7,000.