Platinum Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar
1954 Reference 2497: 37mm
This Platinum Patek Philippe was manufactured in 1954 and later sold in 1956. It features black hard-enameled Breguet numerals and the Breguet style markers give this watch a very unusual and exclusive look since it is the only known version of this watch with this elegant marker style.
This Platinum Patek Philippe was sold by Christie's Auction house for $3,067,195 on May 12, 2008. It is one of only two known platinum versions of the 2497 that are documented. According to Christie's it is commonly believed that there are NO Patek Philippe vintage perpetual calendar watches made out of platinum that were made between 1941 and the mid 1980s. This includes the Patek Philippe References 1526, 1591, 2438, 2438/1, 3448, 3449 and 3450.
In other words, Patek Philippe invented the brought to market, the first perpetual calendar wrist-watch in 1941, and from its inception in 1941, up until the mid 1980s, the never made any cases in platinum except for this one and one other. It is possible there may be more out there, but these are the only two that have been documented to date, which makes this watch ultra-rare!!!
