There is no doubt that Patek Philippe is regarded as one of, if not the best watchmaking company in the world and here is a very elegant 18ct yellow gold Patek Philippe Calatrava Disco Volante reference 2551 watch that has one of the most sought after watch case designs ever produced by Patek Philippe, as well as a movement that is nothing short of exquisite.
Made in 1960, the elegance of this case is astounding for what is a round case. From the slightly larger bezel, to the beautiful lugs, the case measures 36mm across and is fitted with the correct and just as rare "Double P" Patek Phillipe crown.
With a dial that has aged so beautifully with the watch, the dial itself will separate this from even other vintage Patek Philippe watches of the era by having a Sigma dial.
When looking at the bottom of this dial, on each side of the word "Swiss", there is the Greek letter, Sigma which can be seen here " σ". What this subtle yet important mark designates, is that the hands and index markers are in solid 18 carat yellow gold. Used by approximately seven watch companies in Switzerland from 1970, it was among its main reason to signify when gold parts were on the dial to subsequently add to both the financial and intrinsic value of a watch.
Then there is the movement. Inside the watch, it is powered by the 30 jewelled automatic Patek Philippe calibre 12-600AT movement with the solid 18 carat yellow gold rotor. This movement was developed in secrecy by Patek Philippe for 20 years and was released in 1953. This is without a doubt an exquisite movement, and even today it is considered as the best time only watch movement ever made. During its seven years of production, it is estimated that only 7,100 of these movements were ever made. Our in-house watchmaker has just completed a full service on it and the watch comes with our 2 year warranty.
Fitted on a genuine crocodile band, this watch will look so refined under any suit and for an elegant, rare and unique Patek Philippe watch, you will be hard pressed to fined a more suitable one than this.
Stock# C2202
Maker: Patek Philippe
Model: Patek Philippe Calatrava Disco Volante reference 2551
Circa: 1960
$Sold.
Out of stock
Vintage Patek Philippe 2551
Vintage Patek Philippe 2551 with the 12-600 movement
18ct Patek Philippe Calatrava Disco Volante 2551
Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva. Along with his fellow Czech-born Polish partner Franciszek Czapek,however this was short lived. They separated in 1844, and in 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe. Philippe was the inventor of the keyless winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851 and since then Patek Philippe have become famous for high grade movements such as the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in watches.
Making watches for such people as Pope Pius IX, Queen Victoria, Victor Emanuel III of Italy, Christian IX of Denmark, and Albert Einstein. Patek Philippe also made the worlds most expensive timepiece “ The Henry Graves Super complication". Made in 1933 for the prominent banker Henry Graves, Jr. The ultra-complicated pocket watch has 24 functions and was the result of Graves friendly horological competition with James Ward Packard. After Graves's death, the watch was auctioned at Sotheby's in December 1999 for US$11 million to Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani of the Qatari royal family, at that time the most expensive timepiece ever sold. Most recently, the watch sold at Sotheby's Geneva Auction on November 11, 2014 for a record breaking US$24 million.
The Patek Philippe Calatrava was first launched in 1932 and has remained one of their most iconic and sought after models.
A brief history on the sigma dials:
The history behind sigma dials is a very interesting one which has now made watches with these dials highly sought after. The sigma dial is discreetly marked with the Greek letter sigma " σ" on each end of the T SWISS T or SWISS at the bottom of the dial. From 1970, watch companies who were members of the Association pour la Promotion Industrielle de Or (APRIOR), such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, IWC, Omega and Vacheron & Constantin to name a few, produced dials with the sigma letter to notify that the hands and index markers are made in gold. This was used at a time when the Japanese "quartz revolution" started coming in, and sigma dials were produced for one main reason - to notify when gold parts were used on a watch, including the dial to subsequently add to both the financial and intrinsic value of a watch. An important and quite interesting point to note, is that the sigma dials can be found on watches that are made all in stainless steel ie case, band and bezel, but with a sigma dial, not the index markers and hands.
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