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Lot Essay
Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with diamond indexes in 1955 and its subsequent sale on 30 November 1958.
The present watch is amongst the finest "time only" wristwatches ever made: manufactured by Patek Philippe, one of the world's most dignified manufacturers, cased in platinum, widely acknowledged as the most precious metal, featuring a highly elegant diamond-set dial and fitted with the most aristocratic of all self-winding movements, the calibre 12-600.
The platinum reference 2552 offered here for sale is one of only six examples known to have appeared in public to date out of which only three, again including this watch, were fitted with such a diamond dial.
The icy beauty of its platinum case combined with the silvered diamond-dial dial, confirmed by the Extract of the Archives and the excellent overall condition render the present watch a trophy for the discerning collector.
Manufacture of reference 2552 was launched in 1955, the majority cased in gold (see lot 369 in this auction). It was fitted with Patek Philippe's first automatic calibre 12-600, a truly state of the art movement which was granted Swiss patent no. 289758 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".
Reference 2552 and calibre 12-600 AT are illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, pp. 215 & 216.
The present watch is amongst the finest "time only" wristwatches ever made: manufactured by Patek Philippe, one of the world's most dignified manufacturers, cased in platinum, widely acknowledged as the most precious metal, featuring a highly elegant diamond-set dial and fitted with the most aristocratic of all self-winding movements, the calibre 12-600.
The platinum reference 2552 offered here for sale is one of only six examples known to have appeared in public to date out of which only three, again including this watch, were fitted with such a diamond dial.
The icy beauty of its platinum case combined with the silvered diamond-dial dial, confirmed by the Extract of the Archives and the excellent overall condition render the present watch a trophy for the discerning collector.
Manufacture of reference 2552 was launched in 1955, the majority cased in gold (see lot 369 in this auction). It was fitted with Patek Philippe's first automatic calibre 12-600, a truly state of the art movement which was granted Swiss patent no. 289758 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".
Reference 2552 and calibre 12-600 AT are illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, pp. 215 & 216.