Patek Philippe

The 2526 is commonly regarded as the grail of Patek Philippe Calatravas. Being the watchmaker's first waterproof and self-winding wristwatch, it provides an elegant solution to the Rolex Submariner which came to market around the same time.

The present watch is a 1^st series example made in 1954 and so is one of only about 70 to be identified. It has an incredibly clean and uncracked “twice baked”, off white enamel dial. In addition to this, it has an additional Swiss designation at 6 o’clock. Typically, the 2526 came with “Swiss” only on the dial, but in the case of this watch it has “Swiss Made” printed just above the minute track and either side of the 6 o’clock index in addition to the standard “Swiss”. To our knowledge this is the only example in this off white enamel configuration to come to market.

Curiously the watch also features English import hall marks on the inside case back, which suggests that the additional print of “Swiss Made” was due to import regulation in the UK in the early 1950’s. The marks read “U” for 1955, 18 and 750 for 18kt gold and a London Leo symbol specifying an import via the London Assay office.

A similar example with the same configuration with a black enamel dial can be seen in Le Cadran, Crott, page 325.