This article was originally published in the May/June 2022 Issue of the WatchTime print magazine. Photos by Patek Philippe and archive.

With its classic round case, clean lines, tidy dial and distinctive clous de Paris bezel, the Calatrava is a flagship of the Geneva-based Patek Philippe manufacture. There hasn?t been a Calatrava with the famous guilloché finish in the collection since 2018, so the latest model returns this decorative pattern to the limelight. And this style icon has also been given a contemporary hand-wound caliber with a long-lasting power reserve.

When the Stern family took over management of Patek Philippe in 1932, the company was not yet strongly involved in producing wristwatches. But the Sterns recognized where the future lay and understood that they needed to bring the company?s pocket watch expertise to timepieces for the wrist. In the same year, the now-legendary Reference 96 was introduced, the first model from the manufactory that was given a reference number.
Based on the minimalist Bauhaus principle, which insists that form follows function, Reference 96 has been interpreted in countless versions, but always unmistakably. It has had flat or slightly rounded bezels, which were sometimes smoothly polished, set with jewels or guillochéd. There have been extra-slim versions and officers? cases with hinged backs. The dials, always simple and tidy, sometimes showed only hours and minutes, while other times a hand ...