Introduced in 1949, reference 2451 represents an interesting chapter in the development of the Patek Philippe Calatrava. Often known among collectors as the “Acuatic”, it is regarded as the manufacture’s first water-resistant Calatrava, combining the restrained proportions of Patek Philippe’s classical dress watches with a more robust two-piece case construction, screw-down case back and protective inner dust cover. Production continued into the late 1950s, predominantly in yellow gold, and published scholarship suggests that approximately 800 examples were made in this metal.

The case was manufactured by Taubert Frères and bears both the Geneva Key No. 11 responsibility mark and the historic “FB” hallmark associated with François Borgel. The Taubert family acquired the Borgel case-making business in 1924 and continued its specialist tradition of producing water-resistant cases. The combination of the No. 11 key and FB hallmark is also encountered on a number of other important water-resistant Patek Philippe references produced by Taubert.

The present example is particularly noteworthy for its state of preservation and provenance. It has been consigned by the daughter of the original owner, who served during the Second World War and acquired the watch during the 1950s. He passed away only a short time thereafter, and the watch subsequently remained within the family, seeing very little use. The case remains notably well preserved, retaining strong definition to the lugs and case edges together with clearly legible gold hallmarks. The silvered dial likewise presents particularly well, retaining its applied yellow-gold hour markers and the delicate grave accent in “GENÈVE”, a characteristic period detail that can easily be diminished through cleaning or refinishing.

A further interesting detail is the “HOX” import mark found on the movement, indicating that the watch was destined for the United States through Patek Philippe’s American distributor, the Henri Stern Watch Agency. The accompanying Extract from the Archives records that the watch was originally sold without a strap, while it is today fitted with a 14K gold bracelet. Period Patek Philippe watches intended for the American market are known with locally supplied 14K gold bracelets.

The Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirms manufacture in 1953, movement no. 959'864, case no. 676'663 and the manually wound calibre 10'''200, together with a dial fitted with applied yellow-gold lapped hour markers. The watch was sold on 14 October 1953.