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Patek Philippe ref. 2497 & 2438/1
The reference 2497 was Patek Philippe's first serially produced center seconds perpetual calendar, powered by caliber 27SC Q. The case measures approximately 37 x 12.5mm.
The reference 2438/1 is a waterproof version of the 2497, with a screw-down case back.
Only 179 examples of both references combined were made during a 12-year run from 1951 to 1963 in two standard dial variations and two casemakers (Vichet & Wenger): 114 were the ref. 2497 and 65 were the ref. 2438/1. That total number is easily found because production was reserved for a specifically dedicated movement number range, starting at 888.000.
There are two major articles on Hodinkee concerning these references:
- The Patek Philippe Ref. 2497, Part 1: Patek's First Serially Produced Center Seconds Perpetual Calendar
- The Patek Philippe Ref. 2497, Part 2: The Rarest Examples And A Buyers Guide
I hope you will enjoy this quite demanding thread!
A/ REF. 2497
I/ 1st SERIES DIAL (small Arabic numerals on the even numbers & small dots on the odds, mostly leaf hands)
a/ YELLOW GOLD
1/ Movement n° 888.025 & Vichet case
credit: amsterdam vintage watches
2/ German calendar & Wenger case
credit: hodinkee
3/ Movement n° 888.049, retailed by Garrard & Co
credit: christie’s
4/ Movement n° 888.093 & Wenger case - this watch has belonged to Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie
credit: hodinkee
5/ Movement n° 888.093 & unusual Vichet case with different lugs - this model is referred to as ref. 2497/2498
credit:
6/ The 'Fullerton': movement n° 888.000 in a unique case by Vichet
credit: christie’s
b/ PINK GOLD
1/ German calendar, cyclop for the day and month & Wenger case
credit: hodinkee
2/ Movement n° 888.041 & Vichet case - This watch belonged to Peter S. Knoll
credit: hodinkee
3/ The 'Sydney Rose', movement n° 888.093, Wenger case & bracelet
credit: loupiosity & phillips
c/ WHITE GOLD
1/ Movement n° 888.054
credit: hodinkee (1-6 + 9-10), Sjx (7) & loupiosity (8)
2/ Movement n° 888.015
credit: horbiter & christie's
3/ Movement n° 888.055
credit: antiquorum
II/ 2nd SERIES DIAL (baton hour markers and dauphine hands)
"Mark I" dials=baton markers are elongated triangles truncated at the ends
"Mark II" dials=elongated pyramids with sloping points at the top and bottom
credit: christie's
a/ YELLOW GOLD
1/ No precise info on this model sold by Matthew Bain Inc.
credit: Matthew Bain
2/ Movement n° 888.114
credit: christie's
3/ Movement n° 888.178
credit: christie's
4/ Movement n° 888.132
credit: antiquorum
5/ Movement n° 888.121
credit: Sjx
b/ PINK GOLD
Movement n° 888.028 & Pink dial
credit: revolution
III/ RARE DIALS with PLATINUM CASE
1/ Diamond indexes
credit: John Goldberger
2/ Breguet numerals
credit: christie’s
B/ REF. 2438/1 (WATERPROOF REFERENCE WITH SCREW-DOWN CASE BACK)
I/ YELLOW GOLD
1/ Tiffany
credit: hodinkee
2/ The 'Hölscher'
credit: le monde Edmond & christie's
3/ No precise info on this watch sold by Vintage Watches Miami
credit: Vintage Watches Miami
4/ Movement n° 888.167
credit: phillips
5/ Movement n° 888.172
credit: everywatch
6/ Movement n° 888.165
credit: phillips
7/ Movement n° 888.163
credit: phillips
8/ Movement n° 888.171
credit: antiquorum
II/ PINK GOLD
1/ Movement n° 888.175
credit: Sjx
2/ Movement n° 888.110
credit: christie’s
3/ Movement n° 888.177
credit: christie’s
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Patek Philippe ref. 2497 & 2438/1
The reference 2497 was Patek Philippe's first serially produced center seconds perpetual calendar , powered by caliber 27SC Q . The case measures approximately 37 x 12.5mm . The reference 2438/1 is a waterproof version of the 2497, with a screw-down case ...
Wow 🤩, so
many variants ! I love the first one the most because of the color combo !👍 Fun and demanding post 😃
Yes lots of variants and I didn’t include all the ones I found!
I agree that the first one is absolutely gorgeous ! Have a nice weekend!
a great reminder to myself when I enjoyed my 'quiet' 3940 and 5140 why I love PC
and wished a SC on a PC would be simply perfect for me, thus a bigger love for my less 'quiet' 5050. HAGWE, mech
Many thanks for this reference post about PP central second PC
I cannot imagine the amount of time you have spent to gather all these information and pics (very nice selection btw 👍👌👌). So many thanks for this highly informative post, highly appreciated 🙏
Thank you so much for the kind words.
Indeed, these posts require a lot of time up front to read, understand and then find and organize the photos, and finally a lot of concentration is needed when uploading and writing everything. But the research is very interesting and these incredible ref...
Thank you so much for your very kind words,
dear anaroku, they mean a lot to me. Best cordial regards, Emmanuel
Another truly extraordinary review this time of the iconic 2497 - 2438/1. For me along with the 2499 this is about as good as it gets
in vintage Pateks. Additionally, WT cloisonné. My all time #2 favorite is the platinum Breguet dial 2497. #1 is first series 2499 RG pulsations dial. Seeing both watches in person was truly amazing. On a separate note one can clearly see how 2497 DNA is r...
Thank you so much for your very kind words, Patekova! They mean a lot to me.
Seeing both the RG 2499 pulsations dial and the platinum Breguet 2497 in real life must have been a wonderful experience: lucky you! I completely agree with you concerning the link between the 2497 and the 5396. Hopefully, I'll be able to try on a 5396 ne...
Emmanuel, I would be extremely interested in reading how you feel about having a 5396 on your wrist. For me, ever since the introduction in the mid 90s
of Patek’s first AC the 5035 I have continuously felt that the best watch made by Patek for the money is the AC. Of all the AC iterations for me the most appealing is the 5396. If I did not own a Patek but aspired to own a brand new one without breaking t...
Dear Patekova,
I’ve been able to try on the currently available variants of the 5396: the rose gold and the white gold with baguette indexes (5396R-011 & 5396G-017). Even if I really like the case profile, I’ve had mixed feelings. The rose gold case appealed to me t...
Emmanuel, thank you for taking the time write such an extensive and interesting recap with images of your
visit to the Salon. Here are some thoughts for you. IF you love 5396 in RG with a blue dial without diamonds and are open to pre owned you can find it on the secondary market. My approach for whatever it’s worth or not: if in doubt, pass … don’t buy unles...
Thank you for your ideas and advice.
I very much appreciate them. I would have to see the 5396R with a blue dial in real life. I would in particular have to check the color which if I’m not mistaken is slightly different from the one on the white gold diamonds version, as it doesn’t have the...
As always, an amazing post.
I remember reading the Hodinkee articles on these reference. I think this is one of the cleanest and best perpetual calendar designs. I’m assuming the leap year indicator is on the back (although I couldn’t find it just now) which makes the dial very bala...
Thanks a lot for your kind words, Gary!
As far as I know, there is no leap year indicator, as is the case with ref. 3448, which means it has to be set to the proper year by a watchmaker. In this post , Patekova showed an instruction manual stating: There should be no need to set the calendar fo...
Interesting. I wonder how to set it if you don’t wear a watch for a while.
It’s fascinating. The beauty of vintage.
Wowww
These are really nice.. my preference would be the ones with hour indices but without the date ring I wonder how does one set the perpetual calendar function without the leap year indicator?
Concerning the setting of the perpetual calendar without a leap year indicator (which also concerns other models like the 3448),
Patekova showed us an instruction manual in one of his post (click to see) stating: There should be no need to set the calendar for leap-years as this is in principle already done by the time you buy the watch. No further setting is required, and your wat...
It doesn't get any better 🥰 Thank you gor the post 🙏🏻
I can only afford the modern Interpretation 😉 But I'm not unhappy with it! ...
Very sharp shot of the 5320, which is a very beautiful perpetual calendar.
Among the little details I particularly like is the way the crown is slightly recessed into the case. And of course, the stepped bezel and lugs are fantastic. Have a nice Sunday.
This is a wonderful review of this timeless classic.
Really doesn’t get much better. I was not aware of all these variations. Truly fantastic. 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you so much, Gary!
I agree with you: it doesn't get much (or even any) better than this! Best, Emmanuel