Tradition, craftsmanship and innovation describe the reinterpretation of the Alta Artesanía retrograde perpetual calendar with reference 5160/500R-001 in a new version in rose gold with hand engraving.
Perpetual calendars in the style of an officer with a retrograde date hand are among the most sought-after models by lovers of exceptional pieces. The Geneva-based Patek Philippe manufacture emphasises its commitment to creating watches whose aesthetic refinement is a reflection of their mechanical perfection.
This is the new reinterpretation of the Alta Artesanía retrograde perpetual calendar reference 5160/500R-001 in rose gold. A design inspired by a pocket watch kept at the Patek Philippe Museum, generously decorated with hand engraving on the centre of the dial, the bezel, the middle, the crown, the case back and the lugs, as well as the clasp and the screws of the bracelet.
In it we find details such as the interlacing of scrolls and foliage, embellished by the patient work of the craftsman, with the Patek Philippe signature on the case back and the Calatrava cross on the clasp.
The calibre 26-330 S QR, with a self-winding mechanical movement, displays the day, the leap year cycle and the month in apertures at 9, 12 and 3 o'clock. A retrograde hand indicates the date on a circular arc between 8 and 4 o'clock, which instantly returns to its starting point taking into account months of 28, 29, 30 or 31 days.
The silvered opaline gold dial is enhanced by applied white gold Breguet numerals and blackened yellow gold pear-shaped hands.
This elegant contrast highlights the great sobriety and legibility of the design, accompanied by a brown alligator leather strap with square scales and a sapphire case back protected by a hinge.
It is one of the few perpetual calendars equipped with a seconds hand in the centre and the moon phase mechanism is distinguished by its extreme precision, with a lag of just one day in 122 years.
