Looking ahead to Patek Philippe‘s upcoming “Art of Watches” Grand Exhibition, opening up next month in New York, WatchTime offers a look at the most notable wristwatches from the company’s 178-year history. Read on to discover WatchTime.com’s top five. For the complete list of 24 milestone Patek Philippe watches, you can download the full article from the WatchTime Shop.
1. First Patek Philippe Wristwatch (1868)

In 1868, Patek Philippe began production of its first wristwatch: an ornate affair with a baguette-shaped, key-wound movement called Caliber 27368. It had a cylinder escapement and eight jewels. The watch?s case and bracelet were made of yellow gold. The dial was protected by a hinged cover adorned with large diamonds; more diamonds flanked both sides of the dial. In 1873, Patek Phillipe delivered the watch to the Countess Koscewicz of Hungary. The watch is now in the company?s museum. 2. First Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch (1925)

That this, the world?s first perpetual calendar wristwatch, ever came to be is due chiefly to chance. Patek Philippe originally made the movement, which bears the number 97975, for a women?s pendant watch. Completed in 1898, the watch found no takers despite one interesting feature: its calendar hands jumped instantaneously to the next day at the stroke of midnight, rather than creeping forward slowly, as on conventional calendar watches. The watch stayed on the shelf until 1925, when the growing popularit...