The Patek Philippe Reference 5205 Annual Calendar is by no means a new watch. First released in 2010, its attractive layout and iconic complication has ensured that it has now become a mainstay in the Patek Philippe lineup. Throughout the years they have played around with several iterations, from white gold to rose gold and black dials to cream dials and this year they released the newest edition of the family, in white gold and a brand new blue gradient dial.
The annual calendar complication is a calendar watch that sits in between your normal calendar piece and the highly complicated perpetual calendar. While a perpetual calendar takes into account the days of the month, including February and leap years, the annual calendar simply takes into account the months with 30 and 31 days, meaning that every February you have to set the watch and move it forward. This ingenious mechanism was actually invented by Patek Philippe back in 1996 as they saw a gap in the market and realised that it was enough for most that a calendar timepiece only took into consideration the 30 and 31-day months. With a perpetual calendar, the level of complexity in the mechanism outweighed the necessity for leap years and true enough, the annual calendar is one of Patek Philippe’s most successful releases.
The layout of this 5205G is an iconic one, with three apertures at 12 o’clock displaying the day, date and month respectively, while there is a sub dial at 6 o’clock that displays a 24-hour clock and the moonphase. Dial colour has been all the rage lately, with tones of salmon and blue coming out of the Patek Philippe Atelier. This is an interesting blue as it is described as a ‘two-tone dial PVD blue with black gradation’. With different shades coming in and out depending on the light source, you can be sure to find yourself staring at the dial without even knowing what time it is! This really is one of those pieces where as good as our photography is, you really have to go down to your AD to see it in person.
There are no other changes to the 5205 other than its dial; it comes with its standard self-winding calibre 324 S QA LU 24H/206 and housed in the gorgeous 40mm white gold case with skeletonised lugs.
This new Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Moonphase ref. 5205G is priced at €43,520. For more information, visit the Patek Philippe website.
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