Patek Philippe Calatrava 5107J: Back to the Future With a Timeless Classic

Dress watches for men are back in a big way. But this Patek Philippe Calatrava 5107J is the ultimate proof that timeless taste never goes out of style

Patek Philippe’s Calatrava ranks among haute horlogerie’s all-time greats. One of the first designs launched by Patek’s Stern family dynasty, the Calatrava created the template for modern men’s dress watches.

This Patek Philippe Calatrava 5107J is a Calatrava for the modern man and embodies deft melding of historic signatures with modern necessities.

The Calatrava 5107J incorporates critical elements of Henri Stern’s 1932 original such as the elegant tapered lugs and deft dial-to-bezel balance. In profile, the Patek 5107 J reads with the unmistakable silhouette of a Patek Philippe Calatrava. Key elements of the original Calatrava visage are present in force; silver dial, stick indexes, and robust dauphine hands ensure a full complement of essential Patek Philippe Calatrava imagery.

But Patek Philippe’s deference to tradition never stymies innovation. The Calatrava 5107J is a contemporary dress watch that adds a tapered set of crown guards in place of the original’s unsheathed crown. The flares of the guards visually extend the 37mm case without adding actual girth. Moreover, the crown guards offer a visual echo of the tapered lugs that lends coherence to the whole.

While the 1932 Patek Philippe “96” (Calatrava to later collectors) featured a subsidiary seconds dial at six o’clock, the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5107J employs a more legible center seconds hand. And although Patek’s Depression-era “comeback special” bowed in the period before date functions were common, the 5107J offers this complication as a practical everyday measure.

Inside the case, an automatic Caliber 315/190 movement beats at 21,600 VpH and bears the Geneva Hallmark. Discontinued by Patek Philippe in 2009, the independently issued Geneva Seal attests to the finishing quality of any movement bearing it. As a discontinued Patek Philippe model with the now-discontinued Geneva Seal, this 5107J represents an outstanding long-term investment.

It is no exaggeration to describe the Calatrava 5107J as the “everyday Patek Philippe.” Its discreet size and ageless style make it a welcome companion at almost any formal or informal affair, automatic winding and a date function add practicality, and the outstanding legibility of the classical dial serves the essential purpose of telling time at a glance.

Luxury watches of a “formal persuasion” never really went away, but it was easy to miss them in the mid-2000s heyday of the gargantuan Jurassic sports watch. This Patek 5107 J is your ticket back to the future. See it with comprehensive factory accessories in high-resolution images at The 1916 Company