Stainless steel case, gray-blue hue, three-hand date, Patek Philippe’s first new watch released in 2020 is a limited edition watch from the Calatrava series, Ref. 6007A-001. The Calatrava cross pattern and the words “New Manufacture 2019” decorated on the sapphire crystal case back of the watch indicate that this watch was created to celebrate the completion of the new production building in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, and is limited to 1,000 pieces.
The first new work released by Patek Philippe in 2020, Ref. 6007A-001, is decorated with the Calatrava cross pattern and the words “New Manufacture 2019” on the sapphire crystal case back of the watch.
Patek Philippe’s production building in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, was completed in 2019.
For a watch factory like Patek Philippe, which has a long history and emphasizes heritage, limited edition commemorative watches are launched to celebrate important moments. For example, the Ref. 5500 Pagoda and Ref. 5029 Minute Repeater were launched in 1997 to celebrate the official opening of the Pralevute watchmaking workshop. This time, the tradition is also continued, and the Ref. 6007A-001 watch, which is rare for this watch factory, was developed for the new production base completed in 2019.
In 1997, Patek Philippe launched the limited edition commemorative watches Ref. 5500 Pagoda and Ref. 5029 Minute Repeater to celebrate the official opening of the Pralevute watchmaking workshop.
The appearance of this limited edition commemorative watch also brought two important messages. First, the work schedule that was affected by the epidemic in the past few months has now been restarted. Second, the appearance of this watch seems to show us the new direction that Patek Philippe wants to set in the Calatrava series.
■ Assist Calatrava with a youthful design
The new Ref. 6007A-001 has a topic element that has attracted the attention of collectors: a stainless steel case. Following the stainless steel weekly calendar Ref. 5212A released in 2019, the limited edition Ref. 6007A-001 released today is the second stainless steel watch in the Calatrava series. Stainless steel has always been rare in Patek Philippe, and every time it appears, it always causes a stir among collectors and in the market. In view of the great success of the stainless steel weekly calendar Ref. 5212A, which debuted with a literary style, in the market, Patek Philippe has planted a young and literary style in the Calatrava series since 2019, and the newly released Ref. 6007A-001 also has such characteristics. We can boldly speculate that this will be the tone setting direction for Patek Philippe to assist this series.
For a watch factory like Patek Philippe, whose works have always been calm and noble, starting with the literary style has created a contrasting interest, refreshing those who are already accustomed to what Patek Philippe works should be like. It can be said that the literary style of the literary youth is naturally boring, while the literary style of the king of watches is full of freshness that collectors rush to buy.
Patek Philippe Ref. 6007A-001 / 40mm diameter / stainless steel case / brass surface, decorated with rotating circular pattern / 324 automatic winding movement, with hours, minutes, seconds, and date indication.
Patek Philippe Ref. 6007A-001 / 40mm diameter / stainless steel case / 26-330 SCJ SE automatic winding movement / hours, minutes, seconds, day of the week, week number, month display
■ Combining a number of historically rare elements
The diameter of the watch is 40mm, and the combination of gray-blue tones and polished stainless steel looks gentle, fresh, and refreshing. The overall design style of this watch is fresh for Patek Philippe. The gray-blue tone is a major characteristic element of the surface, and the rotating circular grinding effect that can be seen on the surface sets off the white embossed details on the surface, the surface numbers and the platinum white painted luminous hands, which are in sharp contrast.
The hollow baton-style hour and minute hands are painted white and coated with luminous coating on the surface to enhance the reading effect.
The surface layout design is an unprecedented technique of this watch factory. From the 5-minute scale on the outermost circle, the large luminous Arabic numerals, the track scale with triangular marks, and the innermost circle decorated with carbon fiber-style engraving, Patek Philippe responds to the current high-tech trend with an elegant hand. This configuration, coupled with the use of baton-style hands, reminds people of the Ref. 6606 watch that was first included in the Calatrava series in 2017. It is not difficult to see that the latest Ref. 6007A-001 is a design that has evolved further based on the Ref. 6606.
The Ref. 6606 that was first included in the Patek Philippe Calatrava series in 2017. Diameter 39mm / white gold case / 240 PS C movement / hours, minutes, seconds, date indication
It is worth mentioning that this carbon fiber style decoration rarely appears in Patek Philippe works. The last time it was used was on the Ref. T208T-010 minute repeater watch created for the 7th Only Watch charity auction in 2017. This titanium watch was sold at a high price of 6.2 million Swiss francs at the time.
Patek Philippe Ref. T208T-010 minute repeater watch released in 2017.
■ Exquisite details, endless aftertaste
Ref. 6007A-001 is undoubtedly a practical large three-hand watch. The date display is at three o’clock and it is equipped with a 324SC automatic winding movement. This movement uses Spiromax® hairspring, which is hard, anti-magnetic, and non-deformable. It has the characteristics of making users feel safe and reliable.
The polished stainless steel bezel that embraces the surface has a wide arched surface design, and the warm and distinct arc makes the overall lines more charming. The Barton-style hollow hour and minute hands are painted white, and the surface is coated with luminous coating to enhance the reading effect. The matte gray-blue strap of this watch echoes the color of the dial. It is made of calfskin with embossed patterns reminiscent of fabric textures, and then matched with hand-stitched white stitching. The color configuration is exactly the same as the white embossed details on the gray-blue surface, which reflects the so-called delicacy and exquisiteness everywhere.
The bezel has a wide arched arc, and the overall lines are simple but have endless aftertaste.
The outer surface of the gray-blue calfskin strap is decorated with fabric patterns and is hand-stitched with white stitching.
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