BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
With a catalog that is full of precious metal timepieces, the release of a stainless steel Patek Philippe leads to a lot of excitement in the world of horology. During the recently concluded Watches and Wonders digital event, Patek released a few stainless-steel watches and of them is the new Annual Calendar Reference: 4947/1A-001. Featuring a striking blue linen dial and equipped with a Calatrava style case, this is the first-ever Patek Philippe Annual calendar watch with a stainless-steel body.
Measuring 38mm in diameter, the steel case on this watch has a nice and elegant round shape that is found on timepieces in Patek’s Calatrava collection. To accentuate the dressy vibe of the watch, the case has been polished in its entirety to reflect light better. Along with modest width, the case is just 11 mm tall, which should make it slip under those cuffs with relative ease. Water-resistance is limited to a paltry 30 meters.
Packed inside the steel case is a beautiful deep midnight blue dial. To make the dial visually enticing, it has been presented with a unique combination of horizontal and vertical lines creating a pattern that is reminiscent of linen dials found on vintage dress watches. Placed on top of the dial are polished applied white gold numerals, which, like the case, are polished to provide some nice light play. A white printed minute track runs on the outer periphery and time can be read using the lume filled leafy style hour and minute hands and a stick-style second’s hand. The calendar complications have been presented using a tri-register setup with a sub-register for the day of the week at 10, the month of the year at 2, and a beautiful Moonphase complication with a date at 6 o’clock position.
The driving force behind this watch is the in-house self-winding caliber 324 S QA LU. The movement comprises 34 jewels, operates at 4 Hz, and offers a maximum power reserve of around 45 hours. In typical Patek fashion, the movement is well decorated showing off perlarge on the base plate, Geneva striping, and hand-polished beveling on the bridges. It is also equipped with a 21k gold rotor.
The new Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Reference: 4947/1A-001 come attached to a polished stainless steel bracelet and the watch would retail for EUR 41,700.
Visit Patek Philippe here.
