TIME and again

At the Patek Philippe Museum we explore References with a storied past that have inspired today’s latest introductions

Few companies can claim the historic archive of renown watches that Patek Philippe possesses, and visitors to Geneva can see them on display at the Patek Philippe Museum in the city’s center. There are timepieces more than 500 years old, as well as one of the first wristwatches, and also the remarkable Calibre 89, the watch with an astounding 33 complications that made it the most complicated watch ever when it was unveiled in 1989. There are also the three watches here, originally designed in the 1920s and ‘30s. They have inspired new renditions that pay homage to the best of the past while updating the watch’s design and functions for today.

Few watches are as iconic and admired as the Calatrava. The refined, elegant watch, a tribute to classic beauty, was introduced in 1932, the same year the Stern family acquired Patek Philippe. There have been various interpretations of the watch over the years, the most famous being Ref. 3919 with its white dial, black lacquered Roman numerals, and its bezel decorated with guilloche in a hobnail pattern known as Clous de Paris. The latest version of the Calatrava, Ref. 6119G, retains the distinctive bezel but enlarges the case size to a more modern 39mm while keeping the watch a slender 8.1 mm thin. The dial has been updated as well; there are now sleek 18K gold “obus” hour markers with tapered, triangular shaped “dauphine” hands. Perhaps the biggest difference lies inside: a new manually wound, high performance movement (30-255 PS caliber) with twin barrels that ensures a 65-hour power reserve. So you can wind your watch on a Friday, and come Monday morning it’s still ready to go.

Above: Calatrava Ref. 96 from 1932, from the collection. At right: Calatrava Ref. 6119G

With the new Ref. 7234G-001 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, Patek Philippe rounds out its watch family that is inspired by the manufacture’s aviator's watches from the 1930s. The very typical and highly recognizable design was launched in 2015 and has already established itself as a modern classic. Patek Philippe has a long and illustrious history with aviation. Perhaps none more so than the timepieces that reflect input from the great aviator Charles Lindbergh. The first development in creating a timepiece for aviators was to take the watch out of their pocket and put it on their wrist. The second, to create an hour-angle, or siderometer, wristwatch, which determines the plane’s position based on a complicated