2526J Vintage Calatrava 18K Yellow Gold Enamel Dial

About this item

• Brand: Patek Philippe
• Collection: Calatrava
• Model: Calatrava
• Reference: 2526J

This Patek Philippe 2526J holds a landmark place in the maison's history as its very first self-winding wristwatch, and in yellow gold with a fired enamel dial it is widely regarded as the grail among vintage Calatravas. Powered by the automatic calibre 12-600 AT — Patek Philippe's first automatic movement, built with an 18K gold rotor and Gyromax balance, and long considered among the finest self-winding calibres ever made — it displays the hours and minutes with a subsidiary seconds at six o'clock. The great glory of the reference, though, is its dial: a fired enamel surface of extraordinary depth and permanence, a standard of craftsmanship seldom attempted in serial production and increasingly rare to find intact. The yellow-gold case measures 35.5mm across and 11.5mm in thickness, its classical proportions and screw-down back reflecting the model's status as Patek's first waterproof watch. A benchmark of mid-century watchmaking and a true collector's grail.

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