Zach Weiss – Patek Philippe Ref. 5236P-001 In-Line Perpetual Calendar
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This year’s Watches and Wonders was a good one for perpetual calendars. A. Lange & Sohne dropped a beauty, Bulgari broke a record with theirs, and IWC somehow managed to make one look quite rugged with their Big Pilot Top Gun Mojave, but it was Patek Phillipe that really made me go wow. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever written about Patek, not just on Worn & Wound, but in general. While a brand I revere, as does anyone who would consider themselves a watch enthusiast, I think of them as a stern elder or boss. I smile, nod, but ultimately keep my distance. But over the last year my random horological research has turned towards perpetual calendars, perhaps just to tease myself with that which I’ll never own, which inevitably brought me to the steps of the fortress that is Patek.
One of the interesting things about perpetual calendars is that despite sharing the same information (time, calendar, leap year, moonphase, etc), and, you know, knowing the amount of days in each month, every brand does it a little differently. Some opt for more visual complexity than others, which typically requires bouncing your eyes between several tiny sub-dials. Perhaps that’s what you want with your six-figure watch, but with the ref. 5236P-001 Patek has simplified the task to a glance.
As you can plainly see from the picture, the day, date, and month appear in a wide aperture below the logo in a straight line. You read it as you’d say it. At six is the seconds hand with a moonphase with small apertures to right and left, one for the leap year (4 indicating it is indeed a leap year) and the other for AM/PM as white and blue fills. Otherwise, two fence post hands point to the hour and minutes. Simple, graphic, legible.
Additionally, it’s a plainly handsome watch. Classic, but not fussy, it mixes generally conservative hands, dial furniture, and printed indexes with a vertical brushed blue surface that adds some needed texture and personality. The case is 41mm of 950 platinum with a diamond stuck between its lugs at six, which is something Patek does on platinum watches because you wouldn’t want someone to think this was some run-of-the-mill white gold Patek, would you? And that’s that. Truly understated for what it is. At a trifling $130,000, and likely unavailable to you even if you won the lotto tomorrow, this one gets placed firmly in the horological musings pile, but hey, it’s really pretty isn’t it?