A rare stainless steel Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Reference 1518, manufactured in 1943, sold for 14,190,000 Swiss francs (approximately $17.6 million) at Phillips' Decade One (2015–2025) auction on November 8-9, 2025, setting a new record as the most expensive vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch ever auctioned. The hammer price of CHF 12 million, plus fees, surpassed the watch's previous sale in 2016 at the same auction house for CHF 11 million ($11 million at the time), reaffirming its status among horological icons. Bidding lasted just under nine and a half minutes, involving five competitors, with the piece ultimately acquired by a telephone bidder amid a packed room of collectors and experts at Hôtel Président.

One of only four known stainless steel examples of the Reference 1518—widely regarded as the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch, launched in 1941—the timepiece features a 35 mm case by Georges Croisier, a dial by Stern Frères, and movement number 863’193. Engraved with "Number 1" inside the caseback, it is confirmed as the inaugural steel variant, produced during World War II and sold in Budapest in 1944. While most of the approximately 281 Ref. 1518s were cased in yellow or pink gold, the steel versions remain enigmatic, with Patek Philippe never repeating the material for this complication.

The sale underscores the enduring appeal of mid-20th-century complicated watches, though it fell short of broader wristwatch records held by Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona ($17.8 million in 2017) and the charity-sold Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ($31 million in 2019). Phillips described the Ref. 1518 as the "ultimate convergence of historical significance, design mastery, mechanical innovation, and rarity," noting that ownership signals the pinnacle of collecting.

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Across the two-day event, 207 lots totalled over CHF 66.8 million—the highest for any watch auction—with 1,886 registered bidders from 72 countries. The result highlights robust demand for provenance-rich vintage pieces amid a competitive market, solidifying the stainless steel Ref. 1518's mythical status in horology.

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