The collection of non-watch ephemera associated with special brands or retailers is a sideline for other collectors – an interesting sideline, but a sideline nonetheless. However, whisky glasses, sets of spoons, wacky retailer displays showing the tastes of another era among the logo’s golf balls, and what have you, every once in a while something comes up that depends on defies description. This is one of those times. At Antiquorum Geneva on November 12, a watch world still reeling from the record that I can safely say is one of the weirdest finds in non-watch, the replica watches brand collecting. It’s not exactly ephemera, because it’s a functioning clock, and it doesn’t really defy description, because one can describe it perfectly well: it’s a wiretapping device, made by the Patek Philippe replica, and used, or so the Antiquorum listing says, by the Swiss police for, well, wiretapping. 
The lot actually includes two units: the clock proper, which is unit ZL 4 N, and the lower unit which as far as I can tell was the one used for recording (it looks like you could use it to control up to four recording units). Now that said, in digging around I’ve discovered another listing for these two units which describe them, not as a wiretapping device, but as a master/slave setup, with the central clock up top, and the lower unit for controlling up to four slave clocks; we’re trying to see if we can establish which listing is actually right. Of course, the fake Patek at one time made very sophisticated master-slave electronic clock systems. The rationale for the clock, if this is a wiretapping device, would be that for the tap to be admissible as evidence, you have to be able to verify the exact time of the recording.
The Antiquorum listing for the lot says, “A fine and very rare, electronic wire tapping device and clock used by the Swiss police,” and goes on to laconically remark, “Clock in running condition, wire tapping untested.” The listing actually gives reference numbers for each unit so if you wanted to, you could theoretically get an extract from the archives for this thing, whatever the heck it actually is. The Patek did have an Electronic Division which it began in 1948, so I guess anything is possible. Naturally I really hope it’s a replica Patek Philippe wiretapping device.
The Top Quality Patek Philippe Replica Wiretapping Device That Just Sold
