1953 Patek Philippe 2526 Enamel Dial

1953

Patek Philippe 2526 Enamel Dial

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Patek Philippe 2526 Enamel Dial ref. 2526, Calibre 12-600 AT

Launched in 1953, Patek Philippe 2526 is a 12-ligne movement, roughly 6 mm in diameter, automatic. (thus Calibre: 12-600 AT). It was Patek Philippe’s very first self-winding movement, launched some 22 years after Rolex patented its perpetual mechanism.

And while they are both superlative calibers, the Patek 12-600 AT is several steps above what we see from Rolex, to the point where many people tout the 12-600 AT as perhaps the finest self-winding caliber ever made.

The 12-600 AT features Patek’s Gyromax balance wheel, using flat, rotatable timing weights that remains a trademark of Patek Philippe to this day. The caliber beats at 19,800vph, is adjusted to five positions, heat and cold, and isochronism. 12-600 AT was discontinued in the 1960s after around 7,000 units were made across a handful of references. And though it has not a perfect movement, some would say it’s as close to a perfect automatic movement as anyone has ever built.

The other most noticeable trait of the 2526 is its enamel dial. Enamel is used sparingly today because it is delicate and difficult to produce, but Patek Philippe chose to use enamel on the 2526 for a different reason: Essentially, Patek wanted to a create a watch that would last forever, .

And what makes the fact that the 2526 uses an enamel remarkable is that this was a standard production watch. It was not a limited edition, or a rare piece meant only for connoisseurs, but rather the watch that Patek Philippe believe would be the backbone of their entire collection. Essentially, the 2526 was intended to be everything great about watchmaking in one model.

What you have then in the 2526 is arguably the finest time-only watch Patek Philippe made in series.

Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva. In 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the key-less winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851.

It designs and manufactures timepieces and movements including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. It is considered by many experts and aficionados to be one of the most prestigious watch brands along with Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and A. Lange & Sohne.

Patek Philippe pioneered the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in watches.

In 2012, the company produced 50,000 watches.

Patek Philippe timepieces have recorded high prices in auctions worldwide. A large part of the demand for auction pieces is driven by Patek Philippe themselves, as they are often purchasing in the auction market to add to the collection of the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

Submitted by Analog Shift.

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