PATEK PHILIPPE YELLOW GOLD REF. 2551J

The ref. 2551 was the next evolution of the first automatic watches made by Patek Philippe in the 1950s. After the ref. 2526 was released,  the market demand was for increasingly thinner watches and the ref. 2551 was the answer. The thick, enamel dial of the ref. 2526, which was prone to cracking, was replaced by a thinner, silvered metal dial and placed within a case with a relatively thinner, screw-back profile. The celebrated automatic caliber 12-600 remained. Made from 1954 through 1960, the ref. 2551 was available in yellow, rose, and white gold, as well as platinum. The ref. 2551 cases were made by Wenger, and the distinctive, ridged lugs are reminiscent of what Wenger was making at the same time for the ref. 2499. It is fun to consider that this case was made by the same hands that produced ref. 2499 cases. Another distinctive feature of the ref. 2551 was the PP crown, another nod to the earlier ref. 2526.

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