Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1956 and its subsequent sale on 17 May 1957.
Manufacture of reference 2552 was launched in 1955. The model is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 215.
The present watch is the only example of a reference 2552 in yellow gold with the inscription Do unto others as you would have them do unto you on the dial known to date.
do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Behave toward others as you would like to have them behave toward you, as in "Of course I'll help him out; it's a case of do unto others, and I may be in the same boat one day". This so-called golden rule is stated in just about every ancient writing about behavioral precepts, including the New Testament, Talmud, Koran and the Analects of Confucius. Among the earliest appearances in English is Earl Rivers' translation of a saying of Socrates (Dictes and Sayenges of the Philosophirs, 1477): "Do to other as thou wouldst they should do to thee, and do to none other but as thou wouldst be done to."
It appears that this rule would also be one of the freemason's principles.
Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization, thought to have arisen from the English and Scottish fraternities of practicing stonemasons and cathedral builders in the early Middle Ages; traces of the society have been found as early as the 14th century.
Amongst the famous members were thirteen American Presidents such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, notable European Masons included Voltaire, Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Joseph Haydn, Johann von Goethe, Johann von Schiller, and many leaders of Russia's Decembrist revolt (1825). The principles of Freemasonry have traditionally been liberal and democratic. Anderson's Constitutions (1723), the bylaws of the Grand Lodge of England, which is Freemasonry's oldest extant lodge, cites religious toleration, loyalty to local government, and political compromise as basic to the Masonic ideal. Masons are expected to believe in a Supreme Being, use a holy book appropriate to the religion of the lodge's members, and maintain a vow of secrecy concerning the order's ceremonies.
A short summary of the traditional goals of Freemasonry are to mold men into upstanding citizens, to act in a charitable fashion, to teach spiritual principles that improve the lives of others, to protect and aid those whose own lives are difficult the ultimate elimination of greed, avarice and selfish actions.