The ref. 2452 is a mid-century Calatrava with a case that has its own attitude. Long and aggressively stepped lugs, an ultra-thin 7.7mm midcase, and a concave bezel. It's classic, with a twist; a dirty martini of a Calatrava. This case was made possible by casemaker Bernard Dubois & Cie, with a hard enamel dial sporting dagger indices and feuille hands. Although it looks a bit akin to the 2481, it's a 2mm more subtle at 35. And there's a twist on a twist, as this is the rarer pink gold case.
The 2452 was made in two series with a movement change in the middle, a calibre 10-200 from 1949-'51, and 12-400 from 1950-'58. Across both series, just 230 pink gold examples have ever been produced. Of these, it is estimated that fewer than 25 pink gold examples are known to the market today.
As there are so few examples, results are few and far between. Sothebys sold a pink gold enamel dial in 2020 at 16000 USD. Then in 2022, Phillips auctioned a rarer gloss black dial for an astounding 89000 USD. It's absolutely a value at the former result, one of very few Calatravas from this era with a strong character. Karl Lagerfeld once famously said, 'One is never over-dressed or under-dressed with a Little Black Dress.' Meet the wristwatch equivalent of the little black dress, never out of style and never out of place, still with a personality.
