製造商: Patek Philippe 年份: 1954 型號: 2494 機芯編號: 723'510 錶殼號碼: 514'470 材料: 18K yellow gold 機芯: Manual, cal. 12-400, 18 jewels, stamped twice with the Geneva Seal 錶帶/ 錶鏈: Leather strap 錶扣: 18K yellow gold Patek Philippe pin buckle 尺寸: 33mm Diameter 簽名: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed 配件: Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1954 with "blue enamel dial, gold indexes" and its subsequent sale on January 15, 1955
圖錄文章
Enamelled timepieces never fail to elicit an enormous emotional response in collectors. The fusion of the supreme difficulty of this decoration technique with its outstanding aesthetic effect propels enamel timepieces to the pinnacle of watch collecting.
This is why the present timepiece can be considered as one of the most whimsically attractive and collectible time-only watches made by the manufacturer.
Already a very rare reference in its standard metal-dial configuration it is the first time an enamel dial specimen has come to the market, thus rewriting what is known about this model. The translucent ocean blue tonality of this enamel - absolutely confirmed by the archives - has been seen before on a handful of Patek Philippe timepieces (most notably, five examples of world time reference 2523 feature a similarly coloured enamel dial). None of these other watches, however, features the same physical size of this dial measuring 28mm across. The present watch offers a fully enamelled area of more than 6 square cm (615 square mm), a simply enormous size compared, for example, to the enamel décor of reference 2523, which has a diameter of about 11.85mm and an area of about 1.1 square cm (110 square mm) which is six times smaller.
Beyond its aesthetic qualities, the timepiece is offered in very attractive and honest condition. Most notably, it preserves in flawless condition the French import marks stamped to the outside of the caseback. A third hallmark - also perfectly preserved - is present on the back. It is in fact the hallmark of renowned French retailer Jean Guillermin, the most important French Patek Philippe distributor of the time. Given the French market original destination and the fact the the blue of the center is a practically perfect match to the Royal French Blue - the official color of the French monarchy - it is a very reasonable assumption that the present watch was a special request made by a highly patriotic and equally well connected French collector. Pushing this logic a bit further, it is not impossible that the original owner had some ties - either descendance or family allegiance - to the French royalty.
Since its founding in 1839, this famous Geneva-based firm has been surprising its clientele with superbly crafted timepieces fitted with watchmaking's most prestigious complications. Traditional and conservative designs are found across Patek Philippe's watches made throughout their history — the utmost in understated elegance.
Well-known for the Graves Supercomplication — a highly complicated pocket watch that was the world’s most complicated watch for 50 years — this family-owned brand has earned a reputation of excellence around the world. Patek's complicated vintage watches hold the highest number of world records for results achieved at auction compared with any other brand. For collectors, key models include the reference 1518, the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, and its successor, the reference 2499. Other famous models include perpetual calendars such as the ref. 1526, ref. 3448 and 3450, chronographs such as the reference 130, 530 and 1463, as well as reference 1436 and 1563 split seconds chronographs. Patek is also well-known for their classically styled, time-only "Calatrava" dress watches, and the "Nautilus," an iconic luxury sports watch first introduced in 1976 as the reference 3700 that is still in production today.
