During its debut at Watches & Wonders earlier this month, Patek Philippe’s most talked-about release was definitely the green-dialed Nautilus, which signaled the completion of that sport-luxury reference. However, following that release, the manufacturer unveiled its most technically significant new model, which was derived from its storied, classically elegant Calatrava collection. A brand-new (and patented) interpretation of the perpetual calendar wristwatch is provided by the Ref. 5236P-001 In-Line Perpetual Calendar.
The new watch has a unique arrangement that Patek Philippe has only used in pocket watches throughout its history (such as the Ref. P-1450 from 1972, which is currently on display at Patek’s museum in Geneva): the day, date, and month are displayed on a single line in a long, horizontal aperture beneath 12 o’clock. This model further demonstrates Patek Philippe’s multi-generational skill in creating wristwatch perpetual calendars, which started with its first model in 1925. It is housed in a 41.3-mm 950 platinum case with a lacquered blue gradient dial and a new self-winding mechanism.
White gold indices and hands are featured on the lacquered gradient blue dial.
Designed as a separate module with its own plate, the perpetual calendar mechanism is integrated into the movement via an intermediate wheel, which connects with the hour-wheel pinion that controls the minute hand and meshes with a 24-hour wheel to guarantee efficiency. Comprising no less than 118 components of this module are the four rotating disks of the single-line calendar display, which are kept on a one plane without overlap thanks to a patent-pending mechanism with two co-planar double ball bearings. A second patent was filed for the “anti-double-jump” system that guarantees the synchrony of the date disks and prevents them from bouncing during correction or when being impacted. The clever mechanism that immobilizes the units disk when the date transitions from the 31st to the 1st of the month represents the third of the three patent applications filed.
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