Lot 62

Patek Philippe

IOS Calatrava

An elegant Geneva wristwatch with integrated solid 18 K gold bracelet, made especially for IOS and presented to their best dealers, members of the IOS Million Dollar Association

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The "IOS Million Dollar Association" was the investment company of notorious swindler Bernie Cornfeld. The watch is one of a range of circa 1.000 pieces ordered by IOS (Investors Overseas Services Ltd.) from Patek Philippe for their top salesmen, namely those with a turnover of over one million US dollar - to date one of the biggest bulk orders by a company in the history of Patek Philippe.
The watch is part of a yellow gold series exclusively produced for Bernie Cornfeld and the IOS. The IOS logo is shown on the champagne-coloured dial as well as on the case back, which is also engraved with "Million Dollar Associate". Among collectors the model is known as "The Playboy" or "The Millionaire's Club".
Bernard Cornfeld (1927-1995) established his own investment company - Investors Overseas Services (IOS) in 1955. From 1960 on the company traded as IOS Ltd. and was based in Panama. Cornfeld employed 25,000 agents, who sold his 18 investment fonds over the telephone and through door-to-door retailing to small investors in Europe, mainly in Germany. They also targeted ex-pats from the U.S. and American soldiers, who wanted to avoid US income tax. Cornfeld labelled his pyramid scheme "Peoples Capitalism".
In 1969 IOS was at the peak of their success. The company was in control of fixed assets worth circa 2.5 billion US dollar, which made them one of the biggest investment companies worldwide. The number of investors worldwide was estimated at over one million. In 1970/1971 IOS went bankrupt during a worldwide scandal.