Patek Philippe Ref. 3448 and Audemars Piguet 33mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 25800BC
Not long ago, I asked a friendly vintage watch dealer how the market was for 3448s – and his reply was “there aren’t too many people outside the Hodinkee office looking for 3448s right now.” https://www.highluxurystore.ru
In one way, that made me happy, because it means they’re cheaper than they were not long ago, but at the same time, how could Patek’s first self-winding perpetual NOT be going that well while the 3940 continues to set the world ablaze? To me, the 3448 is a bit like the 2526 – it encapsulates an entire era of both design and movement making for the world’s most important manufacture of haute horlogerie – Patek Philippe. And it’s a good size. And easy to read. And live with – unlike a 2499, 5970, or any other hand-wound perpetual. To me a 3448 is a perfect watch – in platinum, white, or yellow.
A 33mm white gold Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar with a yellow dial. She’s so perfect I could stop here.
The 25800 is a rare reference, likely due to its small 33mm size. It’s the only QP in AP’s catalog to house Caliber 2141/2806. Produced in extremely limited numbers, this baby QP is my ultimate pale-blue-wash-baggy-denim-with-cropped-bomber -jacket-and-mini-backpack-90s-nostalgia-ensemble watch. I can’t help but picture Cher Horrowitz in Clueless wearing this with her yellow plaid first day of school outfit. Shout-out to Cara Barrett who led me down a 25800 rabbit hole. She has one in yellow gold with a black dial and it’s also perfect.
But I’ll take this white gold, yellow dial configuration please. When I first stumbled across the Sotheby’s listing, my deeply positive feelings towards the yellow dial Rolex OP (I’ve been considering this watch for my personal collection for some time now) were simply quashed. AP now claims yellow dial supremacy on my very long “things I would like to buy but am not quite there yet” list. I’m a die hard (small / medium size) Offshore fan, so my obsession with this particular 25800 makes sense. It’s the most Offshore looking of the regular Royal Oaks, given the punchy color combined with a white metal and slightly thicker size in relation to the smaller diameter. This complicated beauty is for when I’m feeling spiritually inclined to pick edge over polish. https://www.highluxurystore.ru