179A
Patek Philippe
Ref. 2526
*Gübelin"
An exquisite and elegant yellow gold automatic wristwatch with Second Series enamel dial and bracelet, retailed by Gübelin
Full-Cataloguing
- Automatic, seconds at 6
- Features a Second Series enamel dial signed by Gübelin and wonderfully preserved
- With a hardly ever seen Gübelin brick link bracelet
- Likely a gift to USA media mogul Laurence William Lane Sr.
Launched in the 1950s, reference 2526 is historically significant as it is the first self-winding wristwatch crafted by the brand. It is powered by caliber 12-600 AT, the result of decades of research and development (undertaken while waiting for the Rolex patent on the rotor to expire), and is widely regarded as one of the most impressive automatic movements ever created by any watchmaker.
This example boasts an exquisite Second Series enamel dial, defined by flared holes for the hands’ stems and applied numerals. Such enamel dials, while virtually eternal, were enormously costly to produce due to the high rejection rate, and they were later abandoned in favor of metal dials.
Enormously adding to its collectability and beauty, this watch features a Gübelin brick link bracelet - fittingly so as the dial is signed by the retailer. While a double-signed enamel dial 2526 is an event in itself already, the presence of the Gübelin bracelet grants this watch remarkable historical interest. It is well known that Patek Philippe offered the option to fit these watches with gold bracelet. However, those bracelets are usually signed Patek Philippe (and at times by the bracelet maker). This bracelet, while similar in style to those made by Patek, is not identical to any of the known variations. The implication is that Gübelin, as a jeweler and possibly on request of the original buyer, supplied a bracelet in the style of those made by the manufacturer. An intriguing window into the more flexible procedures adopted when selling watches in the 1950s.
A final layer of historical appeal comes from the fact that, while unconfirmed, the engraving to the caseback might imply that the present watch was a gift from Ruth Bell Lane to her husband Laurence William Lane Sr.
Mr. Lane was one of the most successful businessmen of the time, a media mogul whose crowning achievement was the purchase of the declining Sunset magazine in 1928 and its complete reinvention into a lifestyle, travel and home publication - eventually turning it into the prime representative of the category in the USA.
Patek Philippe
Swiss | 1839Since 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.