Lot Essay
This stunning and extremely rare reference 2551G has incredible charisma and presence, its luxurious 18K white gold Patek Philippe bracelet is equally impressive. It is further distinguished by its highly attractive original overall condition and ultra-rare white gold case of which only around 24 examples were thought to have been made and only 9 of which are known to the market today. The majority of reference 2551 was cased in yellow gold, a small series in pink gold and an even smaller number in white gold and platinum. The model features the legendary calibre 12-600 AT which was granted Swiss patent No. 289758 in 1953 for "a self-winding mechanism for a wristwatch movement using the energy supplied by a rotary mass causing an eccentric part to transmit a swinging movement to an organ of the mechanism".
The present watch is granted a further level of desirability being fitted with a white gold bracelet of the highest quality. Although not original to this watch which was first fitted with a leather strap as mentioned on the Extract from the Archives, the white gold bracelet that accompanies it is one of the most lavish bracelet types offered by Patek Philippe. Bracelets such as this are very rare in their own right and of extremely high quality.
The reference 2551 was produced from 1954 to 1960. The cases were made by Wenger and the dials made by Stern Frères. This model features a stepped bezel, screw back case and Patek Philippe ‘PP’ crown. In 1958, the reference 2551 in yellow or pink gold was selling for a retail price of 1,940 Swiss Francs.
Literature:
A reference 2551 in yellow gold is in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva (Inv. P-888)
Ref.2551 is illustrated in the ‘Blue Book 2’, 2019 edition by Eric Tortella, page 150-153
The present watch is granted a further level of desirability being fitted with a white gold bracelet of the highest quality. Although not original to this watch which was first fitted with a leather strap as mentioned on the Extract from the Archives, the white gold bracelet that accompanies it is one of the most lavish bracelet types offered by Patek Philippe. Bracelets such as this are very rare in their own right and of extremely high quality.
The reference 2551 was produced from 1954 to 1960. The cases were made by Wenger and the dials made by Stern Frères. This model features a stepped bezel, screw back case and Patek Philippe ‘PP’ crown. In 1958, the reference 2551 in yellow or pink gold was selling for a retail price of 1,940 Swiss Francs.
Literature:
A reference 2551 in yellow gold is in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva (Inv. P-888)
Ref.2551 is illustrated in the ‘Blue Book 2’, 2019 edition by Eric Tortella, page 150-153