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Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with silver-plated dial, radium and rose gold bracelet in 1955 and its subsequent sale on 20 January 1956.
Fresh to the market this ref. 2526 is only the second example of this reference known with pink dial and luminous numerals.
Ref. 2526 was produced in yellow, pink and white gold, as well as platinum. The greatest majority of these timepieces are in yellow gold, with much fewer examples in the other three metals, and usually without luminous indexes and hands. Among the few pink gold 2526 that came back to the market, though, only one has a pink dial. Only one, of course, with the exception of the present timepiece. Its rarity may be surpassed only by its enthralling beauty. Melting itself with the pink gold of the marker and case, the pink dial grants this watch an exotic beauty and glow rarely seen on a timepiece. The effect is amplified by the pink gold bracelet made by renowned jeweler Gay Freres.
Patek Philippe introduced ref 2526 to the market in 1953. At this time, other watchmakers had been producing self-winding movements for nearly 20 years. Scholars agree that the delay in the launch of its own automatic watch is because Patek was striving to achieve ultimate perfection for a self-winding calibre. The result of this effort is what is unanimously recognized as one of the best automatic movements ever conceived: cal. 12-600 AT. Luxuriously finished and wound by a massive gold rotor, this calibre, thanks to the size of the plate, employs relatively large parts that allow for an accuracy comparable with that of modern mechanical timepieces.
Beyond its technical achievements, reference 2526 is a masterpiece of elegance. The flowing lines of its Calatrava case, inspired by immortal models such as ref. 96, are simply timeless, as is the minimalist design of the dial.
Fresh to the market this ref. 2526 is only the second example of this reference known with pink dial and luminous numerals.
Ref. 2526 was produced in yellow, pink and white gold, as well as platinum. The greatest majority of these timepieces are in yellow gold, with much fewer examples in the other three metals, and usually without luminous indexes and hands. Among the few pink gold 2526 that came back to the market, though, only one has a pink dial. Only one, of course, with the exception of the present timepiece. Its rarity may be surpassed only by its enthralling beauty. Melting itself with the pink gold of the marker and case, the pink dial grants this watch an exotic beauty and glow rarely seen on a timepiece. The effect is amplified by the pink gold bracelet made by renowned jeweler Gay Freres.
Patek Philippe introduced ref 2526 to the market in 1953. At this time, other watchmakers had been producing self-winding movements for nearly 20 years. Scholars agree that the delay in the launch of its own automatic watch is because Patek was striving to achieve ultimate perfection for a self-winding calibre. The result of this effort is what is unanimously recognized as one of the best automatic movements ever conceived: cal. 12-600 AT. Luxuriously finished and wound by a massive gold rotor, this calibre, thanks to the size of the plate, employs relatively large parts that allow for an accuracy comparable with that of modern mechanical timepieces.
Beyond its technical achievements, reference 2526 is a masterpiece of elegance. The flowing lines of its Calatrava case, inspired by immortal models such as ref. 96, are simply timeless, as is the minimalist design of the dial.