Patek Philippe Calatrava, ref. 2573/2, 18ct Gold, Extract from the Archives, 1970

Dealer description — Vintage Watch Specialist

Few watch designs have become as closely associated with Patek Philippe as the Calatrava. Introduced in the early 1930s, the collection established a design language centred on proportion, restraint and clarity — principles that have allowed the Calatrava to remain remarkably timeless. By the post-war decades, Patek Philippe was producing some exceptionally refined manually wound dress watches. Cases became increasingly slim and elegant, dials were deliberately uncluttered and the emphasis remained firmly on the quality of the movement and finishing rather than unnecessary complication. The calibre 23-300 belongs firmly to this period. Introduced during the 1950s, it was one of Patek Philippe's highly regarded hand-wound movements and was used across a number of the manufacture's elegant dress watches. Its relatively slim construction made it particularly well suited to the understated cases for which Patek Philippe became renowned. Reference 2573 is a wonderful expression of that philosophy: classically proportioned, beautifully simple and unmistakably Patek Philippe without needing to shout about it. What’s On Offer Here we have a particularly elegant Patek Philippe Calatrava reference 2573/2 in 18ct yellow gold, with the accompanying Extract from the Archives confirming a date of June 1970. The beautifully restrained and very original white dial is signed Patek Philippe Genève and features slim applied gold baton hour markers, matched by equally slender gold hands. Small seconds are positioned traditionally at 6 o'clock, with the pared-back subsidiary dial marked by fine individual indices rather than a heavy chapter ring. At 33mm across and approximately 37mm lug-to-lug, this is a wonderfully refined vintage dress watch. The 18ct yellow-gold case has a slim polished bezel and particularly attractive sculpted lugs which give the watch considerably more character when viewed from an angle than its minimalist dial might initially suggest. The watch is powered by Patek Philippe's manually wound calibre 23-300, an 18-jewel movement adjusted to five positions, heat and cold. Importantly, it has a pretty much unworn original Patek Philippe black leather strap together with its Patek Philippe 18ct gold pin buckle — details which make a considerable difference to the completeness of a vintage watch of this calibre. It is also accompanied by its Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives and a Patek Philippe travel/service box, which was obtained at the same time the watch was serviced at Patek, but unfortunately the invoice for this work was lost as it was some time ago, but the watch has not been worn very much since this service a few years ago! There are age-related marks to the gold case and case back, as the photographs clearly show, but these are entirely in keeping with a watch of this age and the soft nature of high-quality gold. Macro photography inevitably magnifies these considerably, and they appear far more pronounced under the lens than they do when the watch is viewed normally on the wrist. A beautifully understated vintage Patek Philippe, and a particularly complete example with its original strap and 18ct gold buckle, archive documentation and Patek Philippe box.