The reference 1415 was introduced by Patek Philippe in 1939 and stayed in production until the mid-1950s. It was the brand’s first serially produced world time wristwatch, following a few prototypes such as a world time chronograph and a rectangular world time model. The round 31mm case has tear-drop lugs and was made mostly in 18k yellow gold, with a smaller number in pink gold. The first examples used a 12-ligne pocket watch movement with wolf-tooth winding, a gold wheel train and camwheel regulation, while later ones received the manually wound wristwatch calibre 12”’-120 with 18 jewels. The watch shows the time in every part of the world through a rotating bezel printed with city names around a 24-hour ring, the concentric system devised by the watchmaker Louis Cottier that became the standard for world time watches.

The 1415 answered a period of fast-growing telephone and telegraph links, when knowing the time across continents became useful; period Patek Philippe advertising aimed world time watches at “the man whose interests go beyond the horizon”. It is believed that a little over 100 examples were made; one study counts 82 in yellow gold, 32 in pink gold and a single platinum piece. Most dials were white enamel, while fewer than a quarter carried cloisonné enamel centres. The city names on the bezels, usually in French and sometimes in English, changed with the date and destination of delivery, so names such as “Peiping” help date a watch. The concept was carried on by the reference 2523 in the 1950s, which added a second crown to set the reference city.

Collectors treat the 1415 as a cornerstone of vintage Patek Philippe world timers, and it has been a stable, sought-after lot at auction for about two decades. The unique platinum example sold at Antiquorum in Geneva in April 2002 for CHF 6,603,500, a world record at the time. Yellow gold examples usually sell for roughly 200,000 to 300,000 US dollars, such as a 1948 piece from the “Ride the Wave” collection that made $289,800 at Phillips New York in 2022, while cloisonné dial examples bring close to a million dollars. The reference 1415 is no longer produced; Patek Philippe continues the world time line in its current collection with models such as the World Time with Date reference 5330G.