matthewking
297
11 made, various arrangements
Hi Dylan,
Well, you've picked quite the reference to zero in on - the ultimate vintage AP to be sure.
It is my understanding that there were only eleven 5516s made, all in 1957. Not all of them featured a leap-year. Of those that did, six have the moonphase at 6 and three have the moonphase at 12. The watch you show from M Friedman is certainly a 5516.
The watch sold by Christies is actually a precursor to the 5516. Three of these were made, in 1955, and they had no reference # at all. As you may guess, the 5516 is a direct descendent from this (basically unique) predecessor. Both use the same base movement though - this "no reference 5516" ticks on a Valjoux13 VZSS while the 5516 runs on a slightly modified Valjoux13 VZSSQ.
To say that the Christies' watch is rare would be a massive understatement. These are virtually unique, and I believe only 2 are currently known to still exist.
I hope this helps,
Matt
Matt
QUESTION: (Sorry for the back to back posts!)
So I was just reading something and am a little confused, hopefully someone can shine some light on this because the rest of the internet is being incredibly unhelpful. The first AP perpetual calendar, the 5516. The first time I saw it, it looked like thi...
11 made, various arrangements
Hi Dylan, Well, you've picked quite the reference to zero in on - the ultimate vintage AP to be sure. It is my understanding that there were only eleven 5516s made, all in 1957. Not all of them featured a leap-year. Of those that did, six have the moonpha...
So great!
Thanks for the response, that was even better than I expected. It doesn't seem like Christies even knew that haha. And if you don't mind my asking, how did you know this? I want access to whatever knowledge fountain you are using. Regards, Dylan
It just takes time :)
Hi Dylan, I have studied up a lot on this reference, as well as (of course!) the 5402. There is no single informational source I can point you to, but over time if you keep reading, asking questions, digging around in old texts, you will soon find yoursel...
Beautiful
Well thank you very much! I'll keep asking questions when they come! Regards, Dylan