Sophisticated, understated yet bold, Patek Philippe reference 2551 is one of the firm's most impressive watches. In production alongside the iconic reference 2526 during the second half of the 1950s, it shares with its brethren a 36mm case diameter and, most notably, the legendary calibre 12-600, widely considered one of the best - if not the best outright - automatic movements of all times.
While the case design of ref. 2526 is stern and imposing, directly derived by the near-militaristic Bauhaus-inspired Calatrava designs of the 1930s and 1940s, reference 2551 is the time only version of one of the most flamboyant, striking, elegant and appreciated case designs of all times: that of reference 2499. The carved downturned lugs, the concave bezel, the contrasting convex band: Patek Philippe basically took the case of ref. 2499, removed the chronograph pushers, slimmed it down and made it waterproof with a screw-down back (similarly to ref. 2438/1) Predominantly cased in yellow or pink gold, the true connoisseurs of the brand consider it a classic in any metal. A white metal example, however, is above and beyond simple watch collecting, achieving true "grail status” already: in fact only a tiny fraction of the production (few dozen pieces out of the estimated couple of thousands examples produced) is in white gold. When a white gold example - such as the present one - is furthermore adorned with a black dial with diamond markers - arguably the most rare Patek Philippe dress watch dial design - we land in legendary territories as we are in front of a so far unique creation. To date, we are not aware of any other model with this dial and case metal combination.
On top of its incredible rarity and looks, the piece is furthermore in absolutely stunning and unrestored condition, sporting a case with perfectly preserved architecture, and an equally well-kept dial without the slightest trace of intervention . All these factors combined make this timepiece one of the most relevant time-only Patek Philippe wristwatches ever made, an unmissable “must have” for the collector of important vintage pieces.
