PAST PRESENT FUTURE

Simplicity and style go hand in hand with the Patek Philippe Calatrava.

- Celine Yap

What is the quintessential Patek Philippe watch? Some will say the answer is simple; it is the Nautilus. Because of how globally sought-after it is, how fascinating its origin story is, and how it is in some ways (for better or for worse), even bigger than Patek Philippe itself.

Others will say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it has got to be a minute repeater. Because Patek Philippe minute repeaters are so rare, so worshipped and so exclusive, that only selected customers of the Manufacture are allowed to acquire one. These are also known as application watches because in order to get one, you’d have to apply for it through a Patek Philippe distributor and hope your credentials as a watch collector convince the Manufacture that you do deserve to own a Patek Philippe minute repeater.

Others believe that it has to be the annual calendar—or any combination of complications that include it. Because Patek Philippe literally invented the annual calendar for want of an everyday wearable calendar watch that was not necessarily as complex as the perpetual calendar, but that was also a couple of notches above the simple date or complete display.

Then come the chronograph aficionados, the world time geeks, the perpetual calendar lovers, the métiers d’arts fans… all of whom are equally convinced that the quintessential Patek Philippe timepiece is their favourite one.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Indeed, Patek Philippe’s horological milieu stretches far and wide, excelling at each and every thing it does, so there is no straightforward way to pinpoint that one complication or timepiece that contains its quintessence—until you consider the Calatrava.