CALATRAVA

The Calatrava is still Patek’s signature model. From its debut with the iconic ref. 96 during the beleaguered Great Depression days of 1932, the Calatrava watches invoke Patek Philippe's precision, novel artistry and style. The Calatravas have elegantly thin cases with broad polished bezels or hobnail high relief surrounding the dials. Noting the immediate popularity of these watches, nearly all the Swiss watchmakers have tried to copy them, trying to capture the sleek lines and elegance; however, Calatrava is unique to Patek Philippe. With the immediate popularity and acclaim for this new, elegant offering, the Stern brothers adopted the Calatrava cross as their now familiar company logo from the legend of a Spanish religious order that defended the Calatrava Citadel against the invasion of the Moors in the Middle Ages, fitting nicely with the traditional Patek brand symbol of the Spanish knight. The Calatrava quickly became known as the epitome of the round wristwatch, as well as the most recognizable example of the Patek Philippe style. Supremely elegant, it affects every new generation of watch aficionados with its timeless simplicity and perfection. As of 2021 there are 15 Calatrava models for men and women, available in white, rose gold, and platinum.

NAUTILUS

The Nautilus was first introduced in 1976 and was a contemporary horologic revolution, a sports watch based on the universal shape of the porthole of a maritime vessel. The first Nautilus 3700/1, was made in stainless steel, but the line has been expanded into rose and white gold, with several complications, some with encrusted diamonds and metal bracelets, making them suitable as dress watches instead of just a sports watch. The Nautilus is known for its octagonal bezel, its porthole-shaped case, and dials with horizontal embossed stripes. In forty-years it has evolved into a collection of exciting examples for both men and women. As of 2021 there are 31 models available in white and rose gold, and stainless steel.

AQUANAUT

The Aquanaut is one of the world's great marine watches. It debuted in 1997 with a rounded, octagonal case inspired by the Patek Nautilus, water resistant to 120 meters, the ref. 5060 It has a sealed dive case and screwed down crown and when it was introduced in 1997, the Aquanaut created a huge sensation. It had a “Tropical” composite rubber strap ultra-resistant to salt-water, wear, and UV radiation. As of 2021 there are 17 models made in stainless steel and rose gold with an assortment of straps, metal bracelets, and even diamonds for women.

GONDOLO

The Gondolo series debuted in 1993 as Patek’s homage to Art Deco art and aesthetic movement of the 1920's and early 1930's. Art Deco pioneers utilized their rules of style and “form for function” as well as artistic beauty, producing architecture, furniture, industrial design, jewelry, and clothing. The Gondolo watches are a contemporary re-examination of the stepped stylistic lines of that school and its philosophy. This collection is named for the “Chronometro Gondolo” pocket watches created by Patek Philippe for the Latin Brazilian Gondolo & Labouriau jewelers in Rio de Janeiro in 1902. With its often diamond-encrusted rectangular, tonneau, or cushion-shaped cases, the Gondolo combines most of Patek Philippe’s “form” watches, the term for all those that are not round, such as the Square, the Pagoda, the Tank, and the Top Hat. Their strong lines, timeless style and geometric simplicity are innovative interpretations of the art deco style, which was still influential in 1932 during one of Patek Philippe’s own golden ages as the Stern Brothers took over the greatest watchmaking firm in the world. Wth the Gondolo, Patek Philippe has reinterpreted – with a subtle infusion of modernity – some of the historical watches that are part of its heritage and may be admired in the Patek Philippe Museum. As of 2021 there are currently 7 Gondolo watches made in rose or white gold, with bezel and dial designs utilizing fine white diamonds.

GOLDEN ELLIPSE

The Golden Ellipse was first introduced in 1968, a time of startling, novel fashion. The radical and innovative Ellipse has become one of the Patek Philippe flagships with its automatic, ultra-thin, simple elliptical case, and its design based on the golden mean, a mathematical division of geometric form discovered more than two thousand years ago. The Patek caliber 16.250 movement was designed especially for the Ellipse and other ladies’ watches, and the ref. 4826/21 has become one of the most beautiful women’s watches in the world. The Ellipse is one of Patek Philippe’s most recognized watches with the elliptical case, a combination of a circle and a rectangle. The most famous example had a blue dial with hands and hour markers floating over its depths, and it's still made today. Its design was inspired by the principle of the “golden section” discovered by the ancient Greek mathematicians. This so-called “divine” proportion, expressed as a ratio of 1 / 1.6181, also forms the basis of some of history’s greatest works of art and architecture. As of 2021 there are 3 models, both with the renowned Patek caliber 240 movement, produced in 18K rose gold or platinum.

LADIES TWENTY-FOUR

The Twenty-4® series of ladies’ watches combine designs for active as well as stylish women, made for every occasion. The crowns include diamond or onyx buttons, and each watch has top Wesselton diamonds on the case, the bezel, or the bracelet. These thin, narrow watches have feminine elegance. They are perfect for fashionable business, dress, or casual wear. The Twenty-4 automatic self-winding line was introduced in 2018, featuring a round case with the caliber 324 S C movement with a date aperture and sweep seconds. As of 2021 there are 12 models in rose gold or stainless steel.

COMPLICATIONS AND GRAND COMPLICATIONS

Complications are the extraordinary horologic special functions aside from simple time-telling that have always made Patek Philippe so formidable. From Jean Philippe’s first pocket watch with a minute repeater in 1845, to his 1881 patent for a precision regulator, and his novel perpetual calendar mechanism in 1889, Patek Philippe innovations have defined the company as being “on the prow of the ship.” After Jean Philippe’s death in 1894, the brand (In 1901 named "Ancienne Manufacture d’Horlogerie Patek Philippe & Cie, S.A."), continued to embrace the high complication technology, including a split seconds chronograph in 1902, their watch with a minute repeater playing the Westminster chimes on a grande and petite sonnerie in 1909, the first ever perpetual calendar wristwatch with the caliber 97925, and of course the watches custom made for connoisseur Thomas Emery as well as the 1927 astronomical pocket watch created for automobile magnate James Ward Packard (At that time the most complicated watch in the world). Patek introduced moon phase displays, the first bracelet chronographs with split-second mechanisms, and a host of other radical horologic creations.

These innovative complication and grand complication watches still set the bar for the modern era. The 1980's and '90's saw a number of impressive Perpetual Calendar Chronographs including the elegantly simply ref. 3450 in 1981, the 1987 ref. 3970 with its subsidiary dials for the constant seconds, 24-hours, moon phase, and a 30-minute chronograph totalizer. The ref. 5970 40mm Perpetual Calendar Chronograph was introduced in 2009, and Hollywood mogul Michael Ovitz – a passionate Patek devotee – helped design his extraordinary namesake Perpetual Calendar Split Second Chronograph 5004/1J-001 in 2011. The company continues to introduce notable Grand Complications timepieces such as the 2017 ref. 5316 with a minute repeater, a tourbillon, a perpetual calendar, a moon phase, and a retrograde date. In 2020 they released three new Grand Complications including the exquisite ref. 5303 minute repeater/tourbillon with the striking mechanism on the dial side, the ref. 5370 Split seconds chronograph, and the ref. 5270 chronograph-perpetual calendar. As of 2021 there are 35 Grand Complication models and 35 Complication watches.

Between the earliest days of Patek’s founding and their currently produced lines of watches, the superlative craftsmanship and visionary design has never missed a beat; they are literally better than ever.