Against a backdrop of unabated hype and incessant enthusiasm for Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and Aquanaut sports watches, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were the only watches the Genevan watchmaker ever created. However, at its core, the reputation of Patek Philippe wasn’t born from steel sports watches in the last decade, but from nearly two hundred years of watchmaking drenched in tradition. This is why the 2022 Patek Philippe 5205R isn’t just a superbly manufactured calendar watch, but an example of one of the more underrated timepieces in the current Patek Philippe catalogue.
The Patek Philippe 5205 features an annual calendar complication, a mechanism that isn’t uncommon to find from other watch brands today, but one that was first invented by Patek Philippe back in 1996. It’s astonishing that no one had thought of it before, but Patek Philippe president, Philippe Stern was looking to fill the gap between his simple time-only Calatrava watches and his perpetual calendars, which led him to push for the development of the practical and user-friendly function.
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First launched back in 2010, the 5205 is a truly contemporary expression of Patek Philippe’s approach to watchmaking. On one hand, infused with decades of carefully considered dial and case proportions, while on the other a thoroughly modern watch featuring a mechanism less than 30 years old, containing the recent technological developments of a Gyromax balance and Spiromax balance spring.
This particular Patek Philippe 5205R in rose gold (indicated by the R after the reference number) was announced at Watches & Wonders 2022 as the sixth version of its kind, preceded by two other rose gold references and a trio of white gold references. Arriving with a stunning green dial that sets it apart from its siblings, when a good friend of mine was fortunate enough to acquire the first example to be sold in Australia, I leapt at the chance to take a closer look at it.
Case
Starting with the case and we immediately see the fusion of past and present in its design, hewn from 40mm of rose gold and remaining relatively slim for its complication at just 11.36mm thick. Its shape is traditionally proportioned with long, slightly curved lugs that have been skeletonised, while the case sides are scalloped for further refinement and are home to the four calendar adjusters from which you can accurately set the watch.
Most of the surfaces of the case have been mirror polished, a fact that highlights the scalloped case sides, while the polish of the slightly concave bezel goes a way in creating a slimming visual impression of the timepiece. Flipping the watch over and we have a sapphire crystal caseback that gives a fantastic view of the automatic movement within, topped by a solid gold winding rotor that has been immaculately engraved with the Patek Philippe Calatrava cross.
Dial
The dial serves up the information of the day, date, month, moonphase and 24-hour indicator, as well as the hours and minutes and seconds, all of which are communicated in an impressively straightforward design. The calendar windows arranged in an arc at the top of the dial are nicely balanced out by the moonphase and 24-hour time located at 6 o’clock, showing that nothing is left unconsidered when it comes to Patek Philippe.
Executed in an attractive shade of gradiated olive green, it catches the light with its brushed sunburst finishing and contrasts the solid gold hands and hour markers spectacularly. The closer you look, the better it gets.
Movement
As we mentioned the annual calendar mechanism was first revealed by Patek Philippe back in 1996, as an ingenious movement that only requires adjusting once a year at the end of February. This particular calibre 324 S QA LU 24H/206 features automatic winding and a power reserve of up to 45 hours when fully wound. Ticking away at 28,800vph, it’s very finely finished with anglage on the edges of the Côtes de Genève finished bridges, with perfectly black polished screw heads.
Strap
As you’d expect from Patek Philippe, the quality of their straps is also extremely high, with this 5205R arriving on a green handstitched alligator leather strap that matches the dial. It’s secured with a spade-shaped rose gold pin buckle that works well with the watch.
All considered, the Patek Philippe 5205R is a fantastic example of the Genevan watchmaker at its best and why the current obsession with sports watches is so limited in its scope. Not only does it represent a step in the progress of contemporary watchmaking that Patek Philippe has contributed so much, but it’s a design that looks as good today as it will in fifty years’ time.
While you’re unlikely to find one in the cabinet of a Patek Philippe boutique, the waitlist for the 5205R is likely measured in months, not years and will be half a decade shorter than any of its sportier siblings. In Australia, its current RRP is $78,600.
