First seen at auction, estimated at over CHF 3.5 million! Rare Patek Philippe Ref.2523 World Time Enamel Watch

PHILLIPS Phillips Auction House will hold the “Famous Watch Collection-Geneva XIII” on May 8th and 9th to present the last known and earliest produced Patek Philippe model 2523 gold watch on the market with a cloisonné enamel dial with a map of the Eurasian continent, with an estimated price of more than 3.5 million Swiss francs.

Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant at Phillips Auction House, and Alex Ghotbi, Head of Phillips Watches Europe and the Middle East, said: “The Reference 2523 with Cloisonné Enamel Dial is the ultimate masterpiece that many watch collectors dream of. It even represents the pinnacle of watch collecting. The most important collecting indicators of rarity, craftsmanship, extreme appearance and uniqueness are gathered together in this auction piece. It is a fascinating, rare and mythical combination of all kinds of charm. If the watch’s provenance is not taken into consideration, only the stainless steel reference 1518 can be compared with it in terms of pure watchmaking importance. It is not only one of the most important collectible timepieces in the world, but also one of the most treasured and unforgettable glorious chapters in the history of collecting.”
This watch, which comes to auction for the first time, comes from an important private collection in Europe. It carries a flawless colorful cloisonné enamel dial, which reflects the beautiful mottled ocean blue, gold, green and turquoise. The reference 2523 watch is equipped with different dials. There are 11 known cloisonné enamel dials with maps, including 5 with North America, 3 with South America, and 3 with Eurasia. One of the three reference 2523s with Eurasia is in the Patek Philippe Museum, another is in an important private collection, and the one presented in this auction is the first time it has appeared on the market and was previously unknown.

The reference 2523 was launched in 1953 with the largest case at the time, 36 mm, double crowns, and the names of world cities as part of the dial rather than engraved on the bezel. There are two versions of the 2523, the reference 2523 has larger lugs and is mounted above the bezel, while the reference 2523/1 has a slightly larger diameter and thinner lugs connected to the bezel. It has been nearly twenty years since the last reference 2523 with an enamel dial featuring a map of Eurasia appeared on the market. The watch presented this time is very likely to be the last watch of the same model to be discovered in the world, making this season’s auction extremely exciting.