Reference Refresh: The Modern Calatrava

With Patek Philippe’s Calatrava turning 90 in 2022, the time is ripe to look back on an icon of classic Fine Watchmaking that’s been almost a century in the making. 

The Calatrava is a gateway to the world of Patek Philippe. The strength of this essential timepiece, with its minimalist style and timeless elegance, is grounded in the principle that less is more. The Calatrava is still just as contemporary today as it was when it was first created in 1932. The significance of that date shouldn’t be lost on us, either: back then, pocket watches were the rule, and the wristwatch was an exception. Little by little, pocket watches were adapted so they could be worn on the wrist, leading to the development of the wristwatch proper. 

That was the landscape when Patek Philippe decided to launch a watch especially to be worn on the wrist. It was unveiled in 1932 (although it was not known as the ‘Calatrava’ until 1934), at a time when the Stern family had just joined the board of Patek Philippe. The family’s majority share became formally established in that same year, 1932, with the arrival of brothers Jean and Charles-Henri Stern.

The Magic Number 96

The first watch bore the reference number 96, and can still be admired at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. Indeed, this model was the first Patek Philippe watch to use a numbered reference. It was powered by a LeCoultre 12-ligne movement, also making it one of the firm’s last movements not made in-house; the Stern family developed its own caliber in 1934. 

The original diameter of this very detailed yet simple watch oscillated between 28 and 31 millimeters. At that time, the very concept of the wristwatch was still something new; there were no standard case diameters, so it’s not really possible to describe this one as large or small. 

One thing the Calatrava did however immediately establish was a very clear style guide: a broad bezel, no-nonsense hour markers, gold Dauphine hands displaying hours and minutes, and an additional small seconds hand at 6 o’clock—nothing more, and nothing less. The central sweep second hand (indirect, as it was connected to the basic LeCoultre small seconds hand) would only arrive later. Dials were already good quality, bearing the signature of the Fabrique de Cadrans Stern Frères dial manufacturers, and were usually in Art Deco style. Sector dials were the rarest.

Decades of Innovation

Space does not suffice to list all the changes made to the Calatrava over the decades. Noteworthy ones include the appearance of the Clou de Paris guilloche bezel in 1934, reintroduced in 1985 for Reference 3919 (the latest version of which is now the 5119 from 2006). Then, too, there was the shift to the 35-millimeter diameter in 1938, as well as the arrival of the first ‘Officer’s Caseback’ on Reference 5022, resurrected in 1989 for the firm’s 150th anniversary of its Ref. 3960 (2000 pieces). And of course, the advent of the first automatic, manufacture movement, presented in 1950, must not be forgotten. Lastly, the extraordinary durability of the original model deserves a mention: the Calatrava Reference 96, in production for over 40 years, from 1932 to 1973.

Simple Complications

Various complications were gradually added to the Calatrava, including everything from basic to perpetual calendars, not least an ultra-slim version made possible thanks to the 240PS caliber. The latter movement enjoyed a revival in 2017 on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, bearing the ‘PP’ signature on the 22-carat gold micro-rotor for the first time, in the Calatrava Ref. 6006G-001, where it went by the name of 240 PS C, using the same 240 ultra-slim, automatic winding caliber base as the Ref. 3992 back in 1988.

However, the Calatrava’s fame resides mainly in its simplicity and elegance, with two central hands, and at the very most a discreet date window at 6 o’clock—although in 2005, the manufacture carried out a facelift on a model first launched in 1991: a Calatrava with an off-center small seconds hand and a pointer calendar, in a new grey gold version just two millimeters larger than before (39mm instead of 37mm).

Over the decades, ladies’ watches were added to the collection, notably Reference 4896, the first Patek Philippe watch for women, in white gold with a dark blue lacquered guilloche dial and a diamond-studded bezel. This jewelry approach lives on, particularly in Reference 4959, unveiled in 2006, which features no fewer than 66 diamonds on its bezel. An interesting detail here is the timepiece’s diameter: 31mm, a return to that of the very first Calatrava back in 1932.

Appealing to The Most Discerning Collectors

Today, the Calatrava remains eminently modern. The manufacture has considerably reworked it—for instance in 2015, with its Pilot Travel model. The latter’s presence on Ryan Gosling’s wrist in Drive did not go unnoticed, granting the piece instant status as a genuinely sexy cult object. Today, Reference 5196 (from 2004) is the one that draws the most inspiration from the original Ref. 96 model, hence its use of the -96 suffix. Its alter ego, the 5296, has disappeared from current collections—and is now an attractive collectors’ item.