Some watches carry provenance through a famous wrist, a royal commission or a blue-chip collection.
This rectangular Patek Philippe carries something more architectural, with a direct line to Paul Starrett, the contractor who helped turn the Empire State Building from ambition into steel, stone and skyline.
Offered as Lot 27 at Phillips’ New York Watch Auction: XIV on June 13, the 1929 Tiffany & Co.-signed Patek Philippe is estimated at USD 15,000 to 30,000.
At a glance
- A 1929 rectangular Patek Philippe wristwatch signed by Tiffany & Co. and owned by Empire State Building contractor Paul Starrett is heading to auction.
- The watch features an untouched dial, oversized Art Deco proportions, a period-correct bracelet and “PS” initials engraved on the caseback.
- It will be offered as Lot 27 at Phillips’ New York Watch Auction: XIV on June 13 with an estimate of USD 15,000 to 30,000.
A Manhattan provenance
The hook here isn’t simply that the dial carries the names Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co., though that pairing is enough to quicken the pulse of many collectors.
The real draw is the engraving on the back, where the initials “PS” point to Paul Starrett, one of the most consequential builders in early 20th-century America.
Starrett is not remembered in the way architects, financiers and industrialists often are, but his work sits in plain sight across the American urban imagination.
Through Starrett Brothers and Eken, he was connected to landmarks including the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, the Plaza Hotel, early Pennsylvania Station, the Biltmore Hotel and the Lincoln Memorial.
The Empire State Building remains the defining chapter.
Conceived during a race for the title of the world’s tallest building, it rose above Manhattan at a pace of roughly four and a half storeys per week and was completed in just 410 days.
It opened on May 1, 1931, with President Herbert Hoover marking the occasion from Washington, and it held the title of the world’s tallest building for 41 years.
Art Deco Patek with a Tiffany signature
The watch itself is a period object in the best sense.
Its rectangular case, large scale for the era and elegant bracelet place it firmly in the Art Deco world of late-1920s New York, when architecture, jewellery and watchmaking were all sharpening their lines.
The dial is described as untouched, an important detail for collectors who prize age, originality and restraint over over-restored perfection.
The Tiffany & Co. signature adds another New York layer to the story, especially given the jeweller’s proximity to the Empire State Building site at the time.
It is easy to imagine Starrett moving between the noise of construction and the polished calm of Fifth Avenue, though the exact circumstances of the purchase remain part of the watch’s appeal rather than a fully closed chapter.
Patek Philippe archival information dates the watch’s delivery to November 1930.
By then, the Empire State Building was nearing its final form, with the steel frame substantially complete and the mooring mast becoming part of the skyline.
Paul Starrett and the skyscraper race
Starrett’s importance lies in execution.
The Empire State Building was not merely tall, it was delivered with a speed and discipline that still feels improbable in the modern construction world.
It rose during the Great Depression, when banks were failing, unemployment was worsening and the American economy was under severe strain.
Against that backdrop, the building became a public image of confidence and capability, even before it became a tourist icon.
Starrett later wrote that he had been tasked with building the world’s tallest building, and not just the tallest, but one that most honestly expressed the skyscraper idea.
That sentence helps explain why this Patek Philippe is more than a handsome vintage watch.
It belonged to a man whose name may be less familiar than his buildings, yet whose practical achievement helped shape the way New York presented itself to the world.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Patek Philippe |
|---|---|
| Retail signature | Tiffany & Co. |
| Model type | Rectangular wristwatch |
| Year | 1929 |
| Archival delivery | November 1930 |
| Dial | Untouched Tiffany & Co.-signed dial |
| Caseback | Engraved with “PS” initials |
| Bracelet | Period-correct bracelet |
| Provenance | Owned by Paul Starrett, contractor behind the Empire State Building |
| Auction | Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIV |
| Lot | 27 |
| Date | June 13 |
| Estimate | USD 15,000 to 30,000 |
For vintage Patek collectors, the attraction is clear enough, with a Tiffany signature, a preserved dial and an Art Deco case shape all present.
For collectors of New York history, the watch reaches further, tying a private object to one of the most public achievements in American architecture.
That combination is what gives the lot its charge.
It is small enough to sit in the palm of a hand, yet it carries the shadow of a building that still defines a city.
