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Lot Essay
With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in pink gold with raised gold hour markers in 1951 and its subsequent sale on 18 September 1953.
The watch offered here for sale is a very attractive and well-preserved example of the rare pink gold version of reference 1526. The dial displays a beautiful, uniform eggshell-coloured patina, perfectly harmonizing with the rose gold colour of the case. The hard enamel signature and scales are as raised as the sophisticated connoisseur would expect. The case has not been subject to careless polishing, the gold mark underneath the upper left lug is crisp, remnants of the hallmark to the right band are still visible.
Reference 1526
Reference 1526 is doubtlessly one of Patek Philippe's most elegant and timeless models, produced in an exceedingly small series of only 210 examples. With the exception of a unique piece in steel, this reference was available predominantly in yellow gold and a fraction in pink gold, such as the present watch.
In production from 1940 to 1952, this masterpiece of elegance combines a Calatrava-style case and a minimalist dial audaciously ahead of its time. In fact, a similar style of dial layout - with a subsidiary dial at 6 o'clock and openings for day of the week and month at 12 - can be found in Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watches over the following three decades, most notably references 2497 (lot 276 in this auction), 2438/1, 3448 (lot 208 in this auction) and 3450.
Reference 1526 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, first edition, p. 215, and in Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches Volume II, pp. 288-289.
The watch offered here for sale is a very attractive and well-preserved example of the rare pink gold version of reference 1526. The dial displays a beautiful, uniform eggshell-coloured patina, perfectly harmonizing with the rose gold colour of the case. The hard enamel signature and scales are as raised as the sophisticated connoisseur would expect. The case has not been subject to careless polishing, the gold mark underneath the upper left lug is crisp, remnants of the hallmark to the right band are still visible.
Reference 1526
Reference 1526 is doubtlessly one of Patek Philippe's most elegant and timeless models, produced in an exceedingly small series of only 210 examples. With the exception of a unique piece in steel, this reference was available predominantly in yellow gold and a fraction in pink gold, such as the present watch.
In production from 1940 to 1952, this masterpiece of elegance combines a Calatrava-style case and a minimalist dial audaciously ahead of its time. In fact, a similar style of dial layout - with a subsidiary dial at 6 o'clock and openings for day of the week and month at 12 - can be found in Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watches over the following three decades, most notably references 2497 (lot 276 in this auction), 2438/1, 3448 (lot 208 in this auction) and 3450.
Reference 1526 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, first edition, p. 215, and in Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches Volume II, pp. 288-289.