Patek Philippe’s Calatrava Weekly Calendar

PATEK Philippe are proud to number themselves among the last of the family owned watch manufactures of Geneva. Most of the rest are now part of much larger combinations.

Patek Philippe are also world renowned and synonymous with the very idea of measuring time exquisitely and with timeless style. The strap line of their communication is almost invariably “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” Suggesting at once family and of course the invaluable connections between generations and the quality of the time piece you have chosen to wear and which you will in due course pass on to your heir.

Over many years the manufacture has proved its commitment to quality and creativity. Time and again, at auction after auction, it is the Patek Philippe piece that will headline an auction for watches of quality.Patek Philippe has lead the horological world in the creation and manufacture of calendar watches. This year among several innovations Patek Philippe have introduced a new function for calendar watches.

The weekly calendar is a semi integrated mechanism that in addition to the day of the week and the date also displays the week number. A delightful feature for the modern man of business. Another special feature is the typography on the face of the dial. A font created for this watch and based on the handwriting of one of the manufacture’s designers; the font’s letters and numbers are quite unique. Printed in black they add a very personal note to the dial and according to Patek Philippe recall an era “when notes were still written by hand in paper diaries”.

Take a tour round the dial and appreciate the new movement Ref 5212A-001, the Calatrava Weekly Calendar has a silvery opaline dial and unusual layout with five hands from the centre. The hours and minutes are indicated with elegant Dauphine hands in blackened white gold. They feature two lapped facets a perfect match for the applied baton indexes in blackened white gold with four lapped facets each. A slender counterbalanced hand tracks the seconds. The day of the week is displayed by a hammer shaped hand with a red hammer head on a circular scale in the middle of the dial. A second hand of the same design delivers the week number and month readings on two concentric scales at 3 o’clock.

The Calatrava Weekly Calendar 5212A-001 has a vintage look about it inspired and inherited from the Ref.2512 a one of a kind piece made in 1955 and held at the Patek Philippe Museum. A kinship acknowledged by the Ref. number, the same digits rearranged. The vintage aspect is further strengthened by a box type sapphire crystal glass with a slightly cambered profile. A stainless steel snap back has a sapphire crystal inset that allows the movement to be observed at work. A 40mm polished steel case has two tier lugs with a strap that is hand stitched light brown calfskin with top stitching and a prong buckle. The Calatrava 5212A is bold piece 10.79 mm thick an automatic watch movement and water resistant to 30 meters. An essential pick for any man of business who could not be properly dressed with a Patek.  The Calatrava Weekly Calendar Ref. 5212A – GBP£26,000 Patek.com

Nick Horne, London, England