284 Patek Philippe A truly rare and exceptionally well preserved, large fancy curled lugs manual wristwatch in yellow gold, with guilloché dial and Extract from the Archives, reference 2549/1.

Estimate: € 50.000 –⁠ 100.000

• Model Taurus Horn
• Year 1954
• Reference 237045
• Case Material 18K yellow gold
• Case Number 683'053
• Bracelet Material Leather strap
• Movement Manual, cal. 10'200, jewelled
• Movement Number 741'913
• Dimension 33mm Diameter
• Signed Case, dial and movement
• Accessories Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present timepiece in 1954 and its subsequent sale on December 1st 1954.

If ever there were a watch that perfectly captured Patek Philippe’s post-war audacity, it is the reference 2549/1, affectionately known among scholars as Taurus Horn and part of the legendary “Turtles” family. Produced for only a fleeting moment between 1954 and 1955, this extraordinary series comprised just nine distinct references, with total production believed to hover around a mere 200 pieces. Within that already rare constellation, the present example stands in a league of its own: fewer than 36 examples of reference 2549/1 are thought to have been made, and today only a handful in yellow gold are known to scholarship.
Cased by Markowsky and bearing the key number 8, the 18k yellow gold case is a masterclass in sculptural design. The overhanging, horn-shaped curled lugs, bold, sensual, and unapologetically architectural, give the watch its “Turtle” nickname, while the pronounced multi-stepped bezel adds depth and theatricality. These were not years of restraint at Patek Philippe: they were years of experimentation, of confidence, of fantasy. Each reference in the series explored a different interpretation of form, and the 2549/1 may well be the most charismatic of them all.
The dial, signed Patek Philippe and crafted by Stern Frères, is equally captivating. Its "two-tone" silvered surface combines a finely guilloché outer field with a rare plain inner circle, an unusual and highly attractive layout seldom seen in the brand’s production. Inside beats the manually wound caliber 10–200, fitted with a swan-neck regulator and adjusted to temperature and five positions.
This is a watch that embodies a brief, daring chapter in the manufacture’s history, when creativity and craftsmanship combined to produce some of the most imaginative cases ever to leave Geneva.