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Lot Essay
Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming the production of the present watch with radium dial in 1954 and its subsequent sale on 19 July 1955.
To the best of our knowledge, this watch has never been offered in public before and is one of only three examples of reference 2526 in pink gold fitted with radium, or luminous numerals and hands to appear at auction to date.
Production of reference 2526, Patek Philippe's first self-winding watch, was launched in 1953. 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 from the very first generation of reference 2526 fitted with the earliest version of calibre 12'''600 without ball bearing. Research indicates that only an exceedingly small number of movements were ever made with this early specification. Watches which were not upgraded to the later standard are particularly rare and collectable.
Both model and movement are illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, first edition pp. 168-169, second edition pp. 213, 214, 216-217.
To the best of our knowledge, this watch has never been offered in public before and is one of only three examples of reference 2526 in pink gold fitted with radium, or luminous numerals and hands to appear at auction to date.
Production of reference 2526, Patek Philippe's first self-winding watch, was launched in 1953. 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 from the very first generation of reference 2526 fitted with the earliest version of calibre 12'''600 without ball bearing. Research indicates that only an exceedingly small number of movements were ever made with this early specification. Watches which were not upgraded to the later standard are particularly rare and collectable.
Both model and movement are illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, first edition pp. 168-169, second edition pp. 213, 214, 216-217.