Important Collector's Watches, Pocket...

Geneva, Nov 11, 2007

LOT 292

Pink Gold Ref. 2526 Patek Philippe, Gen?ve, retailed by Hausmann & Co, No. 763021, case No. 694863, Ref. 2526. Made in 1956, sold on December 29th, 1956. Very fine and rare, water-resistant, self-winding, 18K pink gold wristwatch with an 18K pink gold Patek Philippe bracelet. Accompanied by an additional strap and the Extract from the Archives.

CHF 60,000 - 70,000

EUR 35,000 - 40,000 / USD 50,000 - 60,000

Sold: CHF 64,900

C. Two-body, solid, polished, screw-down case back. D. Beige enamel with applied pink gold faceted baton indexes, outer dot minute markers, subsidiary seconds dial. Pink gold dauphine hands. M. Cal. 12'''600, stamped with the Seal of Geneva Quality Mark, rhodium-plated, fausses c?tes decoration, 30 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, Gyromax balance adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, micrometer regulator, 18K gold rotor. Dial, case, and movement signed. Diam. 35 mm. Thickness 11 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-01

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

Ref. 2526 Launched by Patek Philippe in 1953, this was the company?s first self-winding wristwatch, with caliber 12'''- 600 AT, and serial no. 760,000. It would appear that Patek Philippe produced the Ref. 2526 in 580 examples, most with an enamel dial. The latest automatic movement by Patek Philippe at the time, it later became the Ref. 3428: 20 examples in platinum, 30 examples in white gold, 50 examples in pink gold, 480 examples in yellow gold.
Ref. 2526 is highly sought-after by collectors. There have been four generations of this model, as follows:
- 1st generation: domed screw back, beige enamel dial with applied indexes. The enamel is flared around the holes which hold the indexes, the central hands and the subsidiary seconds hand.
- 2nd generation: domed screw back, beige enamel dial with applied indexes. The indexes are inlaid in the enamel surface; the enamel is flared around the holes which hold the central hands and the subsidiary seconds hand. In this particular series, only a very few examples were made with a black dial and even fewer ith Breguet numerals.
- 3rd generation: identical to the 2nd generation but with a practically flat screw back. Very few examples of this series were produced with a black dial, and only one with a black dial and Breguet numerals is known to date.
- 4th generation: practically flat screw back, beige enamel dial with applied indexes. The indexes are luminescent and inlaid in the enamel surface; the enamel is flared around the holes which hold the central hands and the subsidiary seconds hand.

The first wristwatch of this series, Ref. 2526, also the first Patek Philippe self-winding wristwatch, is pictured in "Collecting Patek Philippe Watches", M. and O. Patrizzi, Guido Mondani Editore, Genova, 2000, p. 127.