Patek Philippe knows all about complicated timepieces and one of them is the Annual Calendar. Patent holder since 1996, the haute brand from Geneva presented the first annual calendar ever: Ref. 5035, after four years of research and prototypes. Able for the first time to distinguish between months of 30 and 31 days, needing to be reset only once a year at the end of February, it was named “Watch of the Year 1996”.
With the presentation in 2016 of Ref. 5396 to celebrate the Annual Calendar’s 20th anniversary, the brand introduced its 22nd annual calendar. Each one has brought innovation, and each one was unmistakably Patek.
Complicated watches that are useful, Patek Phlippe Annual Calendars are as easy to look at as they are to operate, and when they’re made with ladies in mind, the result is irresistibly feminine.
In 2017, Patek Philippe introduces the ladies’ Ref. 4947 Annual Calendar in white gold wearing a new silvery dial enhanced with a double vertical and horizontal satin finish that is reminiscent of shantung silk.
Providing a clean, pure backdrop for the harmonious dial layout, the effect is relaxing, almost soothing. (Is it because I’ve seen so many blue/black/green/red/purple… dials recently?) It seems to make the reading of the information on display even easier as our eyes move effortlessly from 10 to 2 o’clock to discover respectively the day and the month indicated by hands. At six o’clock the date appears in an aperture, and above the date, we admire the finesse of the moon phase.
A central sweep seconds hand completes luminescent gold hours and minutes hands for the overall reading of time on gold applied numerals.
The 18k white gold 38 mm round case is set with 141 diamonds; the crown alone is set with 14 of them. A sapphire crystal case back reveals the supremely decorated self-winding Caliber 324 S QA LU with power reserve from 35 to 45 hours; the movement boasts a Gyromax® balance and Spiromax® balance spring.
Water resistant to 30 meters, this beauty is hallmarked with the Patek Philippe Seal, and complemented with a shiny peacock blue hand-stitched alligator strap with square scales, closed with a prong buckle. The Ref. 4947G-101 is priced at EUR45,270, sheduled to arrive in stores by May 2017.
Sometimes what seems like a simple dial change makes a big difference in our perception of a watch. This new Annual Calendar for ladies from Patek Philippe is a pure example.
