BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
I’ll bet you didn’t see this one coming. For 2022, Patek Philippe has released a Calatrava with a brand new look, the reference 5226G, a white gold dress watch that seems to target the three-handed field watch market. Strangely, Patek Philippe has chosen this market to go for, and these watches generally cost a few thousand, not nearly $40k, $39,033 to be precise. Maybe there’s some logic to it.
The watch’s case measures 40mm x 8.53mm and has a polished bezel with clous de Paris (hobnail) finishing around the edge, in a similar way to Breguet with their coin edging. It breaks up the watch’s profile nicely. The watch comes with a nubuck-finished calfskin strap, but it also comes with a calfskin leather strap designed to look like fabric.
The dial is perhaps the most intriguing, with large Arabic numerals, syringe-style hands and a grainy textured dial with a grey colour. The fauxtina colouration of the dial markers and hands doesn’t work so well, in my opinion, we should be beyond this weird trend by now. I’m not saying this artificial ageing effect can’t be effective, but I still like the idea that a watch earns its patina over time.
Powering the watch is the automatic calibre 26 330 S C. It has a 45-hour power reserve and a 4Hz beat rate. Perhaps the more important part is the high level of finishing it has received, guaranteed by the Seal of Patek Philippe applied to it. Stay tuned; there will be more to come from Patek Philippe on WristReview. Visit Patek Philippe here.
