The "Vintage Serie"
Patek Philippe Ref. 2499

"Pink 2499 - Tachometer Scale". Fourth series. Made in 1957.Astronomic, 18K pink gold gentleman's wristwatch with round button chronograph, register, tachometer scale, perpetual calendar, moon phases and an 18K pink gold buckle. Three-body case, solid, polished and brushed, concave bezel, fluted curved lugs. Dial: Matte silver with applied pink gold bâton indexes, subsidiary seconds and 30-minute register dials, graduation for the days of the month, concentric 1/5th seconds and minute scales, outermost tachometer scale, apertures for the days of the week, the months and the moon phases. Pink gold "dauphine" hands. Movement: Caliber 12''', rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 23 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 8 positions, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring, swan-neck micrometer regulator. Diameter 38 mm. Thickness 13 mm. Ref. 2499 Produced in 349 examples from 1951 to 1985, very few with tachometer, the majority in yellow gold, and a very few examples in pink gold dial - First series: from 1951 to circa 1960, square buttons, "Feuille" hands, applied Arabic numerals, fluted lugs. It is extremely rare to find models in this series with dials with painted bâton indexes; no watches with black dials are known. - Second series: round buttons, "Feuille" hands, applied Arabic numerals. No watches with black Dials are known in this series. - Third series: round buttons, "Dauphine" hands, applied indexes, Arabic numeral 12. No watches with black Dials are known in this series. - Fourth series: from 1960 to 1978, round buttons, "Dauphine" or "Feuille" hands, applied "bâton" indexes. In this series, only four watches with black Dials are known. Only one split-seconds chronograph with waterproof case is known bearing this reference, specially made by Patek Philippe for Gobbi, Milano, in 1982. See "Collecting Patek Philippe Wristwatches" by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Guido Mondani Editore, 2004, vol. II, pp. 164- 167 Ref. 2499/100: - Fifth series: From 1978 to circa 1985, round buttons, sapphire crystal, "Feuille" or "Dauphine" hands, applied "bâton" indexes. Very few examples were made with tachometer or telemeter scale and three pieces only with sapphire crystal back. In this series, models with the tachometer indication are extremely rare.