Operating at the pinnacle of the luxury watch industry, Patek Philippe have dominated the market by constantly improving and updating their range of classic timepieces. Despite updating their Nautilus range last month, CEO Thierry Stern insists that despite the model being incredibly successful, it is not the main focus for the brand. As such, the company has released brand new models of their Calendar and Calatrava line with noticeable improvements that highlights the brand’s expertise and timeless nature.
The main release is the Ref: 5236P, which has introduced the company’s first-ever linear perpetual calendar that reads the day, date and month in one line on a wristwatch. Based on a museum pocket watch from 1972, the wristwatch combines both the past and present ambitions of the company’s leaders with Stern revealing that the original concept had been one of his father’s ideas. With its blue dial and platinum case, it’s a beautiful representation of the company’s past and present ambitions, as Stern boasts “it is a very nice mix between two generations of the Stern Family”.
Perhaps an even more highly anticipated release is the Annual Calendar; Ref:4947 with its new steel case. First patented in 1996, the watch requires only one manual correction each year and features a dial for the current day, month and moon phase. Reworked with a less precious alloy and sized at 38mm, the watch is arguably more versatile than ever when compared to their previous gold and platinum models and is able to fit almost any wrist. Similar to the Ref: 5236P, the 2021 Annual Calendar also features a blue dial with the addition of vertical and horizontal satin finishes, inspired by the subtle nuances of Shantung Silk.
If the aforementioned elite perpetual calendar isn’t attainable, this is quite the handsome compromise.
Moving away from the Calendar range, the Calatrava Ref: 6119R & 6119G, has also received a generous facelift, enhancing its classical and straight-forward aesthetic. Now coming in both white-gold and rose-gold iterations, the Calatrava now boasts Clous de Paris guilloche bezels, adding a subtle touch of style to an otherwise traditional classic. Produced for over 20 years, the watch previously came with a white dial and black roman numerals. However, today’s version is now outfitted with a charcoal dial with a vertical satin finish and white gold markers, foregoing the roman numerals for a more clean and simple look.
Finally, the last watch included in Patek Philippe’s April update is Ref: 4997. Despite being fitted with a 35mm case, this elegant and simple ladies timepiece now capably boasts a new self-winding calibre that winds itself simply from the movement of the wrist. With a navy dial and simple hour markers, the watch face is outlined with approximately 0.52 carats of 76 Top Wesselton brilliantly-cut diamonds for those seeking extra sparkle in their life.