Patek Philippe Calatrava ‘Clous De Paris’ Ref. 6119, a contemporary take on a cult favourite

The Patek Philippe Calatrava is a horological icon that deserves little to no introduction. Presented in 1932 under reference 96, the model is seen by many as the ultimate dress watch. Among the countless versions of the Calatrava, the Clous de Paris has turned into a Patek Philippe trademark since its introduction on the bezel of the reference 96D in 1934.

The hobnail finished Calatrava now comes with a more contemporary veneer, a slightly larger diameter, a dial with applied hour markers… Oh, and a totally new hand-wound movement.

Fast forward to modern days, the emblematic reference 3919 was introduced in 1985 and has often been regarded as the quintessential Calatrava. This unapologetically elegant 33mm dress watch was powered by the micro-rotor calibre 215. The reference 5119 (below top) introduced in 2006 was slightly larger at 36mm. It’s now time for the model to reinvent itself with a larger, modernized version. Meet the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119 and its totally new hand-wound calibre.

Entering its 90th year, the Calatrava collection received a major update both inside and out with the Patek Philippe Calatrava ‘Clous De Paris’ Ref. 6119, or in shorter form, the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119. It’s available in 18k rose gold and 18k white gold.

The round bezel, as the longer name of this new Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119 suggests, is decorated with a guilloché hobnail pattern called ‘Clous de Paris’, a pattern originally designed by French jeweller and watchmaker Boucheron. The ‘Clous de Paris’ are influenced by Parisian cobblestones and are a true hallmark of the French capital. The Clous de Paris motif reflects the city and its architecture. It is used in many of the Haute Joailler’s creations (including the legendary Carrée watches and Quatre rings).

It is a rather rugged-looking pattern that, precisely for its pyramid-like ‘roughness’, actually works like magic with the sophisticated and refined curves of the new lugs and the simple, round face. The dial now features obus-style hour markers that complement the hobnail bezel rather beautifully, and creates light effects that are contrasted with the brilliance of the Calatrava dial.

The new Patek Philippe Ref. 6119 – its reference number pay tribute to 1985’s 3919 and the 5119 of 2006 – distinguishes itself mainly with the slightly larger diameter of 39 mm. The case thickness is 8.43mm, lug-to-lug measurement is 46.9mm, the lugs are 21mm apart. The curved, tapered lugs instead of the straight lugs on the refs. 3919 and 5119 give the watch a slightly larger footprint, giving it more presence without having to grow the case diameter too much. Despite the larger case, the ref. 6119 remains svelte at just 8.08 mm high, making it a bona fide dress watch.

Patek Philippe says “It reflects the changing preferences of our era and emphasizes its presence on the wrist without compromising the slender elegance of its case.” which, frankly, is a slightly odd statement as the large watch trend has already begun to turn and I am not quite sure how much of an upwards pressure in terms of case sizing for iconic dress watches there has been.

But I digress. I am sure Patek Philippe has diligently done its own homework and assessed what its clients across the globe want from the next Calatrava. More importantly, the end result, judging from the official images, looks beautifully proportionate – to my eyes much more so than many of the Calatrava watches from recent times.

Powering the new Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R and 6119G watches is what Patek Philippe calls a “totally new movement.” The goal was to create a hand-wound movement with a larger diameter than caliber 215 PS while being slim enough to keep case thickness in heck. The new caliber 30-255 PS has an inside case diameter of 30.4 mm (overall diameter 31 mm) as opposed to 21.5 mm for the 215 PS (overall diameter 21.9 mm) and an unchanged height of 2.55 mm as indicated by its designation.

Visible through the sapphire-crystal case back, the caliber 30-255 PS is beautifully finished with six bridges – one for each wheel or function – with Geneva striping as well as chamfered and polished edges. 

To preserve the height of 2.55 mm of the caliber 215 movement, Patek Philippe created a central pinion without a wheel plate that meshes with the center wheel via an intermediate wheel, as well as a ratchet wheel and a crown located beneath the barrel bridge as opposed to above it. Despite what we can comfortably call ‘ultra-slim’ build, power reserve has been extended to 65 hours – just about enough to last from a Friday evening until early morning on Monday. This is achieved despite the operating frequency being a rather high 4 Hertz – 4 Hertz over 65 hours is mighty impressive from a movement that is just 2.55mm thick.

This is largely due to the expanded diameter providing enough room for the installation of two parallel mounted mainspring barrels – which again is rather rare as double mainsprings tend to be series coupled. Working in parallel means greater torque which enables greater moment of inertia for the balance (which, at 10 mg/cm², is indeed very high and the highest of all of Patek Philippe’s 4Hz movements.

The Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119 has a sapphire crystal case back to show off the new caliber. The watch is water resistance of 3 bars (30m equivalent). The dial is made of brass, and the hands and hour markers are in 18ct gold matching that of the case.

The Patek Philippe Calatrava ‘Clous de Paris’ 6119 is available in two versions. The Ref. 6119R-001 combines a rose-gold case, a silvery grained dial and a chocolate brown alligator strap. The Ref. 6119G-001 in white gold comes with a charcoal grey dial and a black alligator strap. The watch is fitted with a pin buckle matching the material of the case. The new Calatrava ‘Clous de Paris’ 6119 has a price of Euro 26,150.

The Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119 is available at Patek Philippe Boutiques and selected stores worldwide. For more information, come into the beautiful and timeless world of Patek Philippe.

Patek Philippe Celebrates New Geneva Manufacture With Stainless Steel Calatrava

Fans of the Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe will know that its stainless steel models are rare to come by, but the company has decided to utilize this material for its first release of 2020 in light of a special celebration: the opening of its new manufacture in Geneva.

To celebrate the completion of its new production building in Plan-les-Ouates (near Geneva) Patek Philippe is releasing a new limited edition Calatrava watch

Beginning construction back in 2015, the new headquarters for the iconic brand came with a price tag of CHF 600 million, or roughly $631 million USD. With 10 floors in total – six above ground and four below – the building provides ample room for every stage of the watchmaking process, from basic machining to hand-finishing and movement assembly. The restaurant on the top floor can accommodate a whopping 880 guests, while the underground garage can hold up to 700 vehicles.

This 1,000-piece edition, which celebrates the opening of Patek’s massive and ultra-modern new manufacture building, shares its case design with the reference 6006G, however, here it is slightly larger and made of stainless steel – a material that is known to be more collectable than gold when dealing with a brand like Patek.

The design of the new Patek Philippe Calatrava 6007A is reminiscent of the unique piece donated to Only Watch 2017; the titanium-cased minute repeater, chronograph, perpetual calendar reference 5208T that achieved CHF 6.2 million.

In this instance, this Calatrava 6007A measures 40mm in diameter and remains relatively thin at 9.07mm, making it ideal for everyday wear. The case is entirely polished and features sapphire crystals front and caseback – the latter showing a specific decoration, with the Calatrava cross and the inscription ‘New Manufacture 2019’.

The dial is also novel, with a grey-blue colour and a unique sector style. The central part is embossed with a carbon pattern, something modern and quite surprising from Patek. This isn’t the first time the brand uses this pattern; it has appeared in the past on unique watches. This central patterned area is circled by a railroad track and modern Arabic numerals that are executed in white gold and filled with Super-LumiNova for better legibility in dark conditions.

Powering the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6007A is the in-house calibre 324 SC, which operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour.

The Maison relies on its well-known calibre 324 SC (seconde central) to power this new Patek Philippe Calatrava 6007A , a thin automatic movement used in both Calatrava, Aquanaut or Nautilus watches. This movement with date and central H-M-S is wound by a 21k gold rotor and delivers a relatively short power reserve of 35h-45h.

To complement themodern look of the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6007A, the calfskin strap matches the dial colour and is embossed with a fabric pattern.

Limited to just 1,000 units made across the globe, Patek Philippe’s limited edition Calatrav Ref. 6007A-001 is available at Patek Philippe boutiques and selected stores worldwide at EUR 25,720 or USD 28,351.

Come into the timeless world of Patek Philippe.

 

 

 

Schaap en Citroen opens a Vintage Watches boutique

Since 1888, Dutch jeweler Schaap en Citroen has been a popular address for prestigious watches and jewellery, from brands such as Cartier, Chopard, Jaeger LeCoultre, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Rolex, to name just a few.

Now Schaap en Citroen – with branches in Amsterdam – is expanding its number of stores with a Vintage Watches boutique in the Amsterdam 5-star Conservatorium hotel. A brand new concept for the jeweler’s house: second-hand watches are available in the boutique. Schaap en Citroen offers a realistic and competitive price for the timepiece worn. Visitors can also exchange their worn watch for a new product, for example.

Schaap en Citroen Jewelers offers a wide range of pre-owned watches from the most exclusive brands including Blancpain, Breguet, Jaeger LeCoultre, Patek Philippe, Vacharon Constantin, Cartier, Chopard, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, IWC, Omega, and Hublot. An exclusive number of this unique collection can be viewed in the new boutique in the Conservatorium Hotel. The trade-in procedure for second-hand watches can also be arranged online via the website.

Even if you are not looking for a new watch, a visit to the boutique is worthwhile. Interior designer Rob Feenstra has provided the store with a stylish interior with furniture from Fendi Casa and Bentley Home.

Vintage Watch boutique can be found in the Van Baerle Shopping Gallery at the Conservatorium hotel, which is open maardag: 13: 00 to 17: 45. Tuesday-Saturday: 11: 00 – 20: 00, and Sunday from 13.00 to 17.00 o’clock. Phone number: 020 – 2384792.

Come in the beautiful and timeless world of Schaap en Citroen.

This new Worldtime Minute repeater from Patek Philippe is an unprecedented piece of watchmaking

BaselWorld 2018 is now in full swing and the brands are launching one feat after another. It is one of those times of the year that watch enthusiasts eagerly look forward to. Logically, the amount of beautiful watches only increases with each edition of BaselWorld. Patek Philippe also participates in this. While the brand was a hot topic a few days ago because of their Instagram debut, now it’s time to really steal the show in Basel. 

In July 2017, on the occasion of its fourth Grand Exhibition, Patek Philippe launched the world premiere of the 5531R World Time Minute Repeater, a limited series of 10 watches. Today, this model forms an integral part of the brand’s collection. It combines two grandes complications dear to Patek Philippe: the minute repeater and world time.

Patek Philippe has a tradition of manufacturing watches with advanced functions such as minute repeat and world time. But until 2018, these two complications had not yet been combined in one watch.

Thanks to the new Reference 5531R World Time Minute Repeater, showcased at Baselworld 2018, the wait is over and, for the first time in Patek Philippe’s history, the watchmakers of the brand were able to integrate the two functional mechanisms into one another.

This Minute repeater is again a piece of art of the highest level. There are several Worldtime watches with a Minute-repeater complication, but they are not as spectacular as this Patek Philippe.

Differently from all other minute repeaters with 24 time zones which strike home time even if they are far away from home, Patek Philippe’s Ref. 5531 World Time Minute Repeater, chimes the time at its current location, corresponding to the city aligned with the 12 o’clock position.

In Patek Philippe’s world timers, a single pusher allows the user to correct the time zone indication when moving from one time zone to another. A single actuation adjusts the city disk, the 24-hour disk, and the central hour hand by one-hour steps without affecting the rate accuracy of the movement. In this model, the challenge was to couple the chiming mechanism with the rotatable city and 24-hour rings.

The result was Patek Philippe’s new self-winding calibre R 27 HU movement which features fundamental changes with new designs and new components for which patent applications have been filed.

When the minute repeater is actuated with the slide in the left-hand case flank, the mechanisms that execute the hour, quarter, and minute strikes interact to sound the melody of time. In this phase, the World Time mechanism is blocked so that for the duration of the time strike – while the delicate snails, racks, wheels, and levers are engaged – no time zone adjustments can take place.

A further patented modification distinguishes the Ref. 5531 World Time Minute Repeater from other Patek Philippe watches: its two gongs (one high-pitched, the other low-pitched) are attached to the caseband and not to the plate of the movement, a solution that enhances the quality of the sound although it makes the assembly of the watch more complicated.

As an additional complexity, the new movement is self-winding. Its 22K gold minirotor is fully recessed in the bridge plane. Thanks to its design, the calibre R 27 HU movement is only 8.5 mm thick. Beating at 21,600 vibrations per hour, it offers a power reserve of 48 hours.

Despite its diameter of 40.2 mm and height of 11 mm, the rose gold case looks less voluminous thanks to skeletonized lugs, a slanted bezel, and the shape of the glass. Both flanks are adorned by a hand-guilloched hobnail pattern.

Made of 18K gold and German sterling silver, the dial requires lot of work to be produced with its city disk, the 24-hour disk, and the artistically adorned centre.

The city disk is lacquered silvery white opaline to offer the ideal contrast for the place names printed in black. The Central European Time is not represented by Paris, as usual, but rather by Geneva to emphasise the Lac Léman theme represented by the central cloisonné enamel whose creation requires nearly two weeks and great skills to be completed.

De Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R World Time Minute Repeater comes on a hand-stitched shiny chocolate brown alligator strap with an 18kt rose gold folding clasp.

The Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119 will be available at Patek Philippe Boutiques and selected stores worldwide. For more information, come into the beautiful and timeless world of Patek Philippe.