Dr. N.
Today we are talking about a watch that could be defined as the best automatic single time ever: the Patek Philippe 2526. This not very well known model was the first Patek Philippe with automatic movement: the prestigious maison Geneva chose to mount it, in 1953, in its Calatrava case, itself a milestone for the company.
So let's see why this particular watch can still be considered one of the highest peaks in the art of watchmaking.
The case of the Patek Philippe 2526
The Patek Philippe 2526 is a very classic Patek Philippe evening watch. At first glance it is similar to many other Calatravas: the elegant and timeless case encloses a well-balanced dial with seconds at 6 o'clock, not “soiled” by date windows or other complications. The diameter, as befits an elegant 36s timepiece, is 2526 millimeters. But the Patek Philippe XNUMX contains many peculiarities that make it unique.
The first feature that catches the eye when looking at the Patek Philippe 2526 is its case. Sinuous, elegant, it carries the timeless lines of the Calatrava collection. Looking at it from the side and below, however, we notice two innovative features for the time. First of all, this case is thicker than the others, for the reason we will see in the next paragraph. But the most striking aspect of the case of the Patek Philippe 2526 is the screw back: an innovation that until then had been covered by Rolex patents, notably by its famous Oyster case.
Another feature of the Patek Philippe 2526 is the winding crown with the double P, which is reproduced inside the watch, in the movement.
The movement: a mechanical masterpiece
Going deeper into exploring this watch, we discover the reason for the greater thickness of the case: inside there is in fact a self-winding movement. This is the strong point of the Patek Philippe 2526: this is the first self-winding watch with a central rotor produced by the prestigious company maison Geneva, twenty years after the launch of the first Rolex Perpetual. Patek Philippe had to wait a long time to make a movement with a central rotor - which has now become the standard in all self-winding movements - for one simple reason: Rolex's patent for the Perpetual lasted twenty years. Having to create a watch of high prestige, able to stand out from what has already been seen at Rolex, Patek Philippe chooses to create what is perhaps the best single-time self-winding movement ever. The superlative level of finish present on the oscillating weight is the visible sign of the care taken by Patek Philippe in making the 2526. Each component is made with an aesthetic care of the highest level: this is all the more remarkable when you think that the back was in gold, not in glass! So the choice to create a perfect object even in appearance, even knowing that it would not be visible, is a sign of the overall care taken by the maison of Geneva in this watch.
The outrigger Gyromax, a fundamental innovation from Patek Philippe: it is a balance wheel in which the adjustment screws are replaced by rotating weights. This allows for extremely precise adjustments, reduces friction with the air - remember that a balance wheel oscillates many times in a second, at a speed that is not visible to the human eye - and increases the diameter of the wheel, without protrusions. external, with the same size of the movement. A larger, aerodynamic and better balanced wheel makes the watch more accurate.
If you are familiar with the double P logo embossed on the beautiful winding rotor of the 2526, make no mistake: it was recently taken over by Patek Philippe as an internal seal of quality for its timepieces. A tribute, if you like, to a watch, the 2526 precisely, which marked an era for Patek.
The enameled dial of the Patek Philippe 2526
But that's not enough: even on the aesthetic front Patek Philippe decides to realize, with the 2526, an object destined to make the history of watchmaking. The dial is in fact made of double-fired enamel. The reason for using this material is only one: there is no other that can perfectly resist the passage of time. The quadrants of the Patek Philippe 2526 Today I am identical when they left the factory, seventy years ago: unlike any other dial vintage, the enamel does not know "color change". Who writes for personal passion practices goldsmithing in the context of medieval historical re-enactment, and knows well the difficulty in making enamels: a small error in cooling the material too quickly and the enamel cracks, making a mistake due to excess heat melts the metal support on which the very fine colored glass powder, destined to become enamel only after firing, is placed by hand. Today only a few limited editions use enamel dials: well, the Patek Philippe 2526 it had an enamel dial di series.
Conclusions
Il Patek Philippe 2526 it is a watch little considered on the collector's market. The interest goes above all to the slimmer Calatrava with manual winding, especially those from the XNUMXs.
However, this model has some respectable characteristics: the first automatic Patek Philippe is still very current today, thanks to an innovative movement, the enamel dial and the timeless elegance of the Calatrava case. Not surprisingly, this watch was chosen as a personal timepiece by none other than Enrico Mattei, one of the fathers of the Italian economic miracle.
These watches are found at prices that are not excessive for their quality. Those who intend to collect vintage Patek Philippe should certainly give it a thought ...
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