Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe’s exquisite luxury
This is the Patek Philippe Super Complication Series 5160/500R Retrograde Perpetual Calendar, released in 2024. This watch is the sequel to the 5160/500G-001 white gold watch released in 2016. Its design is inspired by a pocket watch from the collection of the Patek Philippe Museum.

The watch features a sapphire crystal lid and a hand-engraved hinged dust cover. The center of the dial, the bezel, the middle of the case, the crown, the shoulder hinge dust cover, the lugs, the folding clasp and the strap screws are all adorned with ornate hand-carved motifs of vines and leaves, inspired by a pocket watch from the Patek Philippe Museum’s collection.

The case is made of 18K rose gold and has a diameter of 38mm and a thickness of 11.81mm. 18K gold dial with silver-white finish and hand-engraved details in the center, with three-dimensional Breguet font hour markers in black white gold.

There are day and month windows at 3 and 9 o’clock, and leap year cycles are displayed at 12 o’clock. The perpetual calendar feature can automatically identify the number of days in different months, including February 29 in leap years, without the need for manual adjustments. The moon phase display is available at 6 o’clock. The moon phase device is extremely accurate, accumulating only one error every 122 years.

The date is displayed by a retrograde hand in an arc-shaped area at 8 to 4 o’clock. The retrograde needle can rotate up to 270 degrees, and when the end of the month is reached, the needle automatically jumps back to the 1st of the following month. During the reset, the date hand is disengaged from the gear train, avoiding the problem of the traditional date hand “bouncing back” for one or two days.

Powered by the 26-330 S QR automatic movement, it consists of 368 parts and is only 5.36 mm thick. The movement is equipped with a 21-carat gold central rotor with a 45-hour power reserve. The watch features a quaint brown square scaled alligator leather strap, hand-stitched with a hand-engraved rose gold folding clasp adorned with the Calatrava cross.

The origins of the Calatrava doji mark can be traced back to medieval Spain. In 1185, the Spanish city of Calatrava was invaded by the Moors, and the brave priest Raymond and the knight Diego Velasquez led the populace to put up stubborn resistance, eventually succeeding in expelling the invaders. This doji is a combination of a knight’s sword and a priest’s cross, symbolizing solemnity and bravery.

Inspired by this story, Patek Philippe’s founders, Anthony Pictet and Jane Philippe, decided to use the Calatrava cross as the brand’s logo from 1875 onwards, believing that the solemnity and bravery represented by the doji were in perfect harmony with their spirit of cooperation.

In 1887, the Calatrava doji was officially registered as a trademark of Patek Philippe, becoming one of the brand’s most recognizable logos.