Pocket gold 18K watch brand Patek & Cie with the image of Aušros vartai in Vilnius. Switzerland 1845-1850

Patek & Cie pocket watch made of 18-fold gold from the period 1840-1850, case with two enameled motifs of a horse, a snake and two dogs. The inner case is decorated with a painting in the form of a city landscape and relief decoration. The enamel plaque motif depicts the “Gate of Dawn - Aušros vartai” located in the center of Vilnius, Lithuania. A similar image can be seen in the engraving by J. K. Vilčinskio “Album Wileńskie”, 1846. Watch number No. 3896. Total weight approx. 68.2 grams. Diameter approx. 44 mm. The watch was made in the period 1845-1850, after the former Anthony Patek`s employee Franciszek Capek left the company, but before the collaboration with watchmaker Adrien Philippe reached its peak and the company changed its name to Patek & Philippe 19th century.

Historical reference:

Patek & Philippe - After the bloody suppression of the Polish uprising of 1831, thousands of rebels were forced to leave the Russian Empire, fleeing harsh punishments and possible death. Among these fugitives was Anthony Norbert. Fleeing from repression, he first found refuge in Paris. In 1835, having changed his name to Antoine Norbert de Patek, he settled in Geneva, where he began to make a living by reselling watches bought at low prices and sent to his Polish compatriots. In 1839, Anthony had a fateful meeting with Frantisek Capek, a Polish watchmaker of Czech origin. On May 1, 1839, they founded the watch company Patek, Czapek & Cie. Producing about 200 watches a year, the company quickly established itself, and already in 1844 it took part in the Paris Exhibition. It was there that Patek first learned of Jean-Adrien Philippe, a French watchmaker who was working on an innovative pocket watch that did not require a traditional winding key to wind and adjust. A year after meeting Jean-Adrien Philippe, František Capek decided to leave the company and its name was changed to Patek & Cie. Patek, needing a new partner, invited Philippe to take the post of technical director in his Geneva company. On May 15, 1845, a new company, Patek & Cie, opened at 15 Quai de Berg in Geneva. Six years later it was renamed Patek, Philippe & Cie, beginning a new chapter in the history of watchmaking.

The Gate of Dawn is the only surviving city gate of Vilnius, representing one of the most important religious, historical and cultural monuments of the city. In the chapel located at this gate there is an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, which, according to legend, has miraculous properties. Initially, the gate was called Mednitsky (Medininkai), since the path to Medniki (Medininkai) began from there. The modern name may have come from the Lithuanian word aštrus (Russian sharp), since the gate was located on the outskirts of the city, which at that time was called the Sharp End. There is another version of the origin of the name, related to their location in the eastern part of Vilnius, where the dawn rises. Additionally, the Virgin Mary was also called the Star of Dawn, which may have influenced the name of the gate. The chapel acquired its classic appearance as a result of reconstruction carried out in 1828–1830. The top of the chapel was crowned with a turret with a bell. In 1830, a stone corridor connecting the chapel with the church was completed. Between the columns on either side of the icon were two gilded statues depicting the parents of the Virgin Mary, Saints Joachim and Anna.