The History of Time: How Patek Philippe Changed the Game with Their Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch

The world has come a long way since the era when astrologers were asked to tell the time. These wise men would calculate the days by measuring the Earth’s orbit around the sun. As the millenniums went by, brilliant minds from each new generation added to these concepts, until we reached the modern day idea of how to tell time—365 days in a year, 12 months to a year, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds per minute—it goes on and on, and so does time.

For the last 177 years, Swiss luxury timepiece manufacturer Patek Phillipe has added to that long and curious history. Their innovative movements and inventions continue to challenge the idea of how we tell time. Founded by Antoine Norbert de Patek and Adrien Philippe, the Geneva-based company still enjoys creative freedom in the manufacturing of their products. They’ve continued to uphold their tradition of excellence for almost two centuries, having over 100 patents to their name. Now owned and operated by the Stern family since 1932, Patek remains to be as popular as ever. Appreciators of time and collectors of premium timepieces continue to look to the brand as trendsetters of the industry. Although, this reliability and adoration from fans did not come out of the blue. Patek earned it through a groundbreaking idea in 1925, when they said, “It’s time to put watches on the wrist, instead of the pocket.” Because of this, the modern idea of the wristwatch was born, and the perpetual calendar (a rare mechanism at the time, only constructed for royalty and wealthy individuals) became more popular for those who could afford it.

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Patek Philippe has been a top of mind brand with watch enthusiasts since being founded 177 years ago
Patek Philippe has been a top of mind brand with watch enthusiasts since being founded 177 years ago
Patek Philippe's perpetual calendar movement is made entirely by hand by the brand's skilled artisans
Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar movement is made entirely by hand by the brand’s skilled artisans
The intricate mechanics of a perpetual calendar movement has been perfected by Patek Philippe. They first patented it in the late 1890s.
The intricate mechanics of a perpetual calendar movement has been perfected by Patek Philippe. They first patented it in the late 1890s.

The Tale of Inventors and Innovators

The perpetual calendar was not invented overnight. It all began with a man named Thomas Mudge, an English horologist, who introduced the world to many important watch parts. He created such innovations like minute repeaters and detached lever escapement. He had a fruitful career as a watchmaker, making timepieces for such high-end clientele like King Ferdinand VI of Spain. One of his largest contributions to the industry is by creating one of the earliest versions of the perpetual calendar in 1762, paving the way for Patek Philippe, who would go on to perfect the art form in their wristwatches over a century later. A perpetual calendar is a movement that takes into account the extra days of the leap years, automatically adjusting the date on the watch, rather than wearers having to manually change it themselves. This was a big achievement in history. Not only for the convenience of watch lovers, but in science as well, by understanding the complexity of machines and making them just as intelligent as the human brain.

Fast forward to 1889. Patek Philippe Co-founder Jean Adrien Philippe patented the brand’s more refined version of a perpetual calendar, which he thought of putting inside pocket watches. The brand’s newer version “allowed the date, day, month and moonphase to jump instantaneously as well as simultaneously.” This very movement has survived the test of time, beating in the heart of countless Patek Philippe timepieces over the years such as the popular Calibre 89 and Grandmaster Chime, produced for the manufacturer’s 150th and 175th anniversaries, respectively.

By 1925, Patek Philippe was leading the game with their invention, cementing their name as the top of mind wristwatch for collectors and enthusiasts. That year, they further innovated by finally putting their perpetual calendars on wristwatches, instead of the then-standard pocket watches. This watch would be known as Reference No. 97 975, which the brand describes as “a unique piece distinguished by four symmetrically arranged subsidiary dials. The date is displayed by a central hand pointing to the date appearing around the rim of the “railway-track” minute circle. The instantaneous nature of the calendar adds an additional touch of technical refinement.”

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An early version of the wristwatch made in 1932, Ref 96
An early version of the wristwatch made in 1932, Ref 96
A recent perpetural calendar chronograph released by Patek Philippe this 2018 (5270:1R-001)
A recent perpetural calendar chronograph released by Patek Philippe this 2018 (5270:1R-001)

Treasures of Time

After the success of the first wristwatch, Patek Philippe got busy. In the early 1940s, they began a series of perpetual calendar timepieces which are now highly-sought after by collectors. Take note, this was before the Second World War, and no other watch companies were creating such advance movements like this. This is why many models during these days are considered very rare, and can very-well fetch thousands of dollars at auction. In addition, each Patek Philippe timepiece is meticulously made by hand by the brand’s expert artisans (which remains to be the case till this day). Some timepieces from this era include Reference 1526, which was manufactured between 1941 to 1952. Equipped with a manually wound caliber 12-120, it was the first with the signature dial configuration, which Patek describes as “twin in-line apertures for the day and month indication at noon and the moon phase and date on a subdial at the six o’clock position”. The watch series was well acclaimed, as it improved readability of the functions due to the better display on the dial.

1937 marked the pioneering retrograde display in a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar wristwatch, through the introduction of Reference 96 (which is manually wound). Because of this watch, the brand was able to develop the self-winding 315 SQR with a retrograde hand, Reference 5050, almost 60 years later. In 1962, the brand launched Reference 3448, which was the first self-winding wristwatch with a perpetual calendar. By the 1970s, the same reference number added a leap year indicator, which was the first of its kind. In 2018, Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar wristwatches are almost like works of art—aesthetically beautiful, and yet, never compromising the mechanisms that rest below its face.

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Patek Philippe's GM of SEA, Deepa Chatrath giving her talk about the history of the Calendar
Patek Philippe’s GM of SEA, Deepa Chatrath giving her talk about the history of the Calendar
Patek Philippe pioneered the perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925. Pictures here is a 2017 model, Reference 5320G
Patek Philippe pioneered the perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925. Pictures here is a 2017 model, Reference 5320G

Keeping History Alive

Today, Patek Philippe is eager to keep their rich history with the perpetual calendar alive. They have begun their Knowledge Series, an interactive master class educating media and clients about their 177-year journey. Recently, the first leg of the series in Asia was held at the Shangri-La at the Fort hotel in the Philippines. Lifestyle Asia was present for the class and exclusive lunch party that focused on the sophisticated grand complication that has made Patek Philippe one of the leading watch manufacturers in the world. Present as the classroom session was Deepa Chatrath, General Manager for Patek Philippe South East Asia, who led the lecture, and Emerson Yao, the watch connoisseur and entrepreneur, whose company Lucerne is the brand’s official distributor in the Philippines.

As Patek Philippe shared their history with us, it is exciting to see where the company will be 100 years from now. They were innovators at a time when the concept of technology was only beginning, imagine what they can achieve in the future, when developments in machines are even more superior then todays. The possibilities are endless—just like time itself.

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