The latest interpretation of a Patek Philippe model that wrote horological history throughout the past 70 years: the classic two-pusher chronograph wristwatch with a perpetual calendar. The archetypal face itself is an icon with in-line aperture displays for the day and the month at 12 o’clock as well as an analog date with a moon-phase aperture at 6 o’clock. The chronograph counters, slightly shifted down from the horizontal centerline, reveal the secret of its heart: the manually wound caliber CH 29-535 PS Q movement with column-wheel control and a horizontal clutch, developed and crafted entirely in-house by Patek Philippe. It took two years to design the new perpetual calendar mechanism with 182 parts and a height of merely 1.65 mm and to perfectly adapt it to the manually wound chronograph movement. The entire caliber is housed in an elegant 18K white-gold case with a concave bezel and gently flared lugs. It also features the same rectangular chronograph pushers as the legendary predecessors from the 1940s and 1950s that kept fetching record prices at international auctions. Despite the 11 indications - time, chronograph, perpetual calendar and moon phases - the dial configuration is organized and very legible. Superb design complements high-end watchmaking artistry.
First published in Men's Passion issue #32 June-July-August 2011
