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Ref2551

12-600 vs 27-460

In Nov 2013 I wrote an article about my final 12-600 acquisition. At that stage I had 5 12-600 but also had a ref 3433 which had a 27-460 movement rather than a 12-600, the equivalent watch being the 2551

Well after 4 years a 2551 has now materialised in my collection and I feel that I can now close the chapter on this part of my collection

The only one I do not own is the ref 3403 , a rather small automatic watch (32mm) similar in size to the ref 96

So here we have the two watches side by side





Aside from the crown – 3433 has a re gular crown whereas the 2551 has the famed double p PP crown

The dials are slightly different in terms of colour- champagne versus cream

So the only true difference is the engine or movement. The 3433 has the newer 27-460 and the 2551 has the legendary 12-600

















Differences

Please note pics of 12-600 are from my 2540 but the 27-460 are stock pics from Google) – my 3433 is in the vault

1. Size -12-600 is 12 ligne or 28mm wide and 6mm thick whereas the
27-460 is 27mm wide but a little thinner at 4.6mm.
2. This is due to the fact that the rotor assembly is different with a slightly flatter ball bearing
3. The beautifully guilloched gold rotor in the 12-600 which is hidden behind a solid case back is not present in the later 27-460. It still has a beautiful gold rotor but it is not decorated.
4. The balance spring also has a unique self-adjustable balance spring stud carrier which allows the spring to self-centre which is key to positional performance
5. The 27-460 all had the gyromax balance unlike some of the earlier models of the 12-600 which had a swan neck regulator ( as above)
6. 30 jewels in 12-600 versus 37 in 27-460
7. The 27-470 had a date variation 27 -470M






Acknowledgements

1. Walt Odets Le Grande Dame se automatique Suisse; the patek calibre 27-460
2. Michale Friedman The perfect watch Patek Phillipe’s Legendary 2526