Patek Philippe has introduced a new stainless steel limited edition to commemorate the completion of its new production building in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva. The watch, a classic time and date Calatrava Ref. 6007A-001 will be limited to just 1,000 pieces.
The venerable Swiss brand has a tradition of introducing commemorative timepieces. Those of a certain vintage will remember the Ref. 5500 Pagoda and the Ref. 5029 Minute Repeater that were unveiled to mark the opening of the Plan-les-Ouates manufacture in 1997.
The new Ref. 6007A Calatrava uses a polished stainless steel case with a broad cambered bezel. It is fitted with a sapphire crystal caseback and is water resistant to 30 meters. The case is 40 mm wide and 10.34 mm thick. The grayish blue dial is dominated by a carbon-fiber like pattern at the center that is reminiscent of the one-off Ref. 5208T triple complication Patek donated to the Only Watch Auction in 2017.
The railway track scale of the hour circle with triangular markers, the white gold pierced baton hands for the hours and minutes recall the Ref. 6006 Calatrava from 2017. The dial also features lume-filled white applied Arabic numerals, a white lacquered bronze seconds hand, and a subtle date window at 3 o’ clock.
The watch is powered by the manufacture Caliber 324 S C, a self-winding movement with a rotor made from 21K gold. The modern 4 Hz escapement features a Gyromax adjustable inertia balance wheel fitted with the proprietary silicon Spiromax balance spring. Finished in the finest Patek tradition, the movement has a maximum power reserve of 45 hours.
The watch is paired with a blue calfskin strap embossed with a pattern reminiscent of textile fabrics and fitted with a prong buckle. As mentioned earlier, Ref. 6007A-001 Calatrava is a limited edition of 1,000 watches and the sapphire-crystal caseback is specially marked with a Calatrava cross and the “New Manufacture 2019” inscription. The year 2019 was when the first work groups moved into the new PP6 production building. The watch is priced at CHF25,000.
