For scores of enthusiasts around the globe Patek Philippe is many things, for many they are a watchmaker of extraordinary skill, for others they are a repository of enduring heritage, but for all Patek Philippe can be encompassed in just one word: TIMELESS.
Indeed, the Patek Philippe mantra states, “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation.” Which brings us to the new Calatrava “Timeless White” (Ref. 7122), a ladies’ watch that, not only lives up to the mantra, but also lives up to its name in every respect.
For the human eye, the color white is, quite simply, the presence of all colors. But for the soul, white is a state of being, one that directly and universally evokes emotions perceived as having strong symbolic meaning. And while the color has been interpreted in innumerable ways by countless cultures, those disparities are minimal at best. Thus, white will always stand for tranquility, integrity, and most importantly, purity.
So timeless is the color, in fact, that this isn’t the first time Patek Philippe has leveraged it. A number of years ago, Patek Philippe gave us the Twenty~4 “Timeless White,” which instantly won the hearts of many women. This new Calatrava ladies watch, then, is a revision of sorts.
“For the human eye, the color white is, quite simply, the presence of all colors. But for the soul, white is a state of being, one that directly and universally evokes emotions perceived as having strong symbolic.”
But this isn’t just any Calatrava re-issue. Its contours are actually inspired by the Ref. 96 proto-Calatrava launched way back in 1932. In fact, a totally new design was developed to create space for the complement of diamonds and to extend the strap lugs into the circumference of the glass. The lugs, then, flow INTO the case. This added a level of complexity when it came to the tapered edges of the diamond-set quadrants of the case. Indeed, those quadrants reflect the pinnacle of the jeweler’s art because the brilliant-cut diamonds of different sizes are set all the way to its outermost tips, eliminating the need for gold filling grains generally used in these situations (Check out those photos if you don’t believe us).
And if that wasn’t enough, all the diamonds are graded rare white in the Top Wesselton category. The selection of the 44 diamonds totaling approx. 0.52 ct. is already a challenge, not to mention the work involved in setting the stones of different sizes. But this is precisely the level of detail that sets Patek Philippe apart and what makes the Calatrava “Timeless White” (Ref. 7122) such a treasure that will delight many generations to come.
And then there’s the smooth, white lacquered and polished dial, which takes several days to craft under rigorously controlled clean room conditions. Indeed, only a calm and experienced hand can possibly achieve such results. With its filigreed, printed minute scale, to the applied gold geometrically-styled hour markers that contrasts so exquisitely with those elegant leaf-shaped hands, the pure white dial is truly fascinating.
“Indeed, those quadrants reflect the pinnacle of the jeweler’s art because the brilliant-cut diamonds of different sizes are set all the way to its outermost tips, eliminating the need for gold filling grains generally used in these situations.”
Indeed, each of the gold hour markers is decorated with the geometric hobnail pattern that connoisseurs automatically associate with Patek Philippe. In the Calatrava “Timeless White,” the hobnail pattern transforms the delicate hour markers into little pointed crowns.
Under all of this beats the reliable manually-wound mechanical Calibre 215 PS movement that keeps everything running with a tolerance of -3/+2 seconds per day. Naturally, the movement is spectacularly finished by hand. Bridges with manually applied Geneva striping and polished chamfered edges; brass wheels with a golden gloss and chamfered spokes; circular-grained steel wheels for the winding train and the spring barrel; and screws with polished slots in polished countersunk bores all add to the depth and beauty of the movement as per the Manufacture’s unrelenting standards. Not to mention, deep red synthetic ruby bearing jewels deliver vibrant accents, as do Patek Philippe’s proprietary Gyromax balance with the patented Spiromax balance spring that breaths even more precisely than conventional flat hairsprings.
Indeed, timelessly elegant, timelessly seductive, and timelessly precious, the all-modern and all-white Calatrava “Timeless White” Ref. 7122 fits the generational bill rather nicely and is available in another version in rose gold. To be sure, its classic albeit highly innovative design will undoubtedly retain its feminine allure for many decades to come.
