Our first live auctions of fall 2024 season, PHILLIPS RELOADED: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999, and the Geneva Watch Auction: XX, take place on November 8, 9, and 10, at the Hotel President, at Quai Wilson 47, in central Geneva. The auctions include more than 195 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think they're some of the best catalogs we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sales over the next month, including the Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronographs highlighted below.
In our newest editorial feature – Specialist Showdown – two members of our Geneva Watches department debate the differences between two of the most iconic vintage Patek Philippe references.
The two models featured in this article are both perpetual calendar chronographs. Marcello de Marco defends the honor of the progenitor of the series, the ref. 1518, while our Arthur Touchot, takes up the cause for the successor ref. 2499
This conversation between our two specialists was recorded over coffee in early October 2024. The transcription has been lightly edited for clarity and tone.
Logan Baker, Senior Editorial Manager, Moderator: Let's begin with an opening statement on what attracts you to your specific model, and why you selected to debate on it.
Marcello de Marco, Senior International Specialist: This is a debate between two icons: the original (1518) and the improved, or upgraded, version (2499). Then I realized that, in the end, the point of the 1518 is simplicity. The 2499 has a far more baroque style, with the carved lugs and what not.
The case is also more complicated. It's more abundant. So basically it is a question of simplicity in design, versus something with more of an architectural case. And for those who like simplicity, everything we'll say will drive them to the 1518. And for those who like baroque, everything we'll say will drive them to the 2499. It's truly a question of taste, in the end.
Arthur Touchot, International Head of Digital Strategy, Specialist: First of all, I agree with you. The 1518, the 2499, both watches are icons. The 1518 came first and therefore it is the original perpetual calendar chronograph; it set the blueprint not just at Patek Philippe – with the 2499, the 3970, et cetera – but I would say broadly for the industry. It presented the codes, the aesthetic codes of what a beautiful Swiss-made, high-end perpetual calendar chronograph should look like.
However, and as you've in your opening statement, I think the 2499 is an improved version. Why? I think design-wise, it's an improvement on the 1518. The case is bigger. The lug-to-case ratio is better. I think the 2499 is a more beautiful version of the 1518.
MdM: It boils down, at least if we go at it aesthetically, to subjectivity. You say "The lugs are better; the size is bigger." Maybe you like bigger watches; maybe I like smaller watches.
AT: I think the point is that Patek Philippe liked a bigger watch. They made the decision to change the design of their perpetual calendar chronograph. And they did it very quickly, when you look at the production cycles of their models.
MdM: And then they realized their mistake and went back down [in size] with the 3970!
AT: Yes, 35 years later! The 2499 existed for 35 years, as opposed to 14 years for the 1518.
MdM: They say it takes a long time to fix a mistake; it only takes a moment to make it.
Jokes aside, in the end, mechanically, they're pretty much the same. One thing about the 1518, however, is that it's rarer. It's a good 20 to 25 percent more rare than the 2499. That's one numerical value that I can bring forward, rather than "I like the smaller, simpler case," or "I like the bigger, more architectural case."
AT: Let me challenge that. There are less 1518s than there are 2499s. We know this to be the case. Patek Philippe made 281 1518s and 349 2499s (plus two in platinum). But the 1518 was made over a 14-year span, whereas the 2499, as we discussed, was made over 35 years time. So, when you actually break it down, Patek Philippe made 20 1518s per year during its production cycle, and only 10 2499s during its production cycle.
And then you have the four series in the 2499. So you can break down the 2499 into four different models in terms of collectability. If you want to collect the 2499, there is more variety.
MdM: You have a bit of variety in both still. There are two platinum 2499s, and four steel 1518s. On the other hand, the two platinum 2499s were an after series creation, which is a little bit frowned upon by collectors. The stainless steel 1518 was officially in the catalog alongside the others. And the steel was the cheapest at the time. It's a cool bit of historicity that you cannot find anywhere else, at least until the 5004.
AT: Let me simplify things. Which variation would you pick if you had carte blanche?
MdM: In the end, for me, it basically boils down to the white metals; they're the most wearable. So either the platinum 2499, or the stainless steel 1518. It's an impossible choice. It's an impossible choice.
LB: What about you, Arthur?
AT: It would be a platinum 2499, followed by a stainless steel 1518.
MdM: There's something I keep forgetting. Historically, the launch time of the 1518 is so crazy. I mean, it was 1941. In the middle of the war, Patek decided to launch the most complicated, the most expensive watch ever made serially by anybody. How crazy were they? It's mind-blowing.
AT: I admire the fact that we're talking about these two watches as if they were completely different, one versus the other, but actually when you study both the 1518 and the 2499, I appreciate that they evolved, one into the other, so smoothly over time.
The 1940s and 1950s were such radically different periods in Europe.
LB: Final statements?
MdM: My camp is originality and simplicity. A 2499 is something that people – even if they don't know high watchmaking, or vintage watches – they can somehow understand from the case that it's something important. The 1518 has a much higher chance of flying under the radar. This kind of stealth importance really attracts me a lot.
AT: I think you have to give the 1518 its flowers. Without it, the 2499 doesn't exist. So I recognize the importance of the model, but I do think that the 2499 is an improved version in terms of the product. I think you could that it's just as rare, and potentially more interesting to collect. I also just think it's the more beautiful of the two. But it's subjective.
MdM: Watch collecting is art. If it speaks to you, it's for you. The 2499 speaks to me as well, but just between the two, I slightly lean toward the 1518. That's it. But, I mean, I'd take a 2499 anytime. I'm not gonna dodge it, for sure.
AT: For sure. I'd be happy with either.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XX catalog right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
Recommended Reading
Up-and-Coming Independent Watchmakers To Know in the Geneva Watch Auction: XX
Specialists' Picks: The Geneva Watch Auction: XX
A Round-Up of 14 Manual-Wind Rolex Daytonas in the Geneva Watch Auction: XX