Patek Philippe Calatrava “Clous de Paris”

A new design and a new movement for one of Patek Philippe’s most important classics

The famous Calatrava with the guilloched hobnail bezel is one of the most inimitable examples of the typical Patek Philippe style. It now comes in a new version with a decidedly contemporary look, a slightly larger diameter, and a dial with applied hour markers. This sleek, slender, and elegant men’s wristwatch in rose or white gold also has a totally new manually wound Patek Philippe movement with a power reserve of 65 hours.

A legendary model series

Within this proud tradition, some Calatrava models attracted considerable attention with lasting impressions: They were the versions with guilloched hobnail patterns on the bezels. This diamond-polished motif composed of small pyramid tips already appears on the bezel of a Calatrava in 1934, the Ref. 96D (D for décor). It has the same manually wound caliber 12-120 movement, the same curved lugs and the same dial with applied hour markers and small seconds as the Ref. 96. In 1972, this type of bezel also graces the manually wound Ref. 3520D (caliber 177), with hours and minutes, Roman numerals, and straight lugs. The year 1985 marks the debut of a Calatrava that would become one of the most famous timepieces in the world of horology.

It was the legendary Ref. 3919 with the manually wound caliber 215 PS, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, white dial with black lacquered Roman numerals and straight lugs. The model was produced for over 20 years. This period also saw versions with smaller diameters for feminine wrists, such as the Ref. 4819 (1987) with a quartz movement, the Ref. 4820 (1988) with a quartz movement and additionally with a gem-set bezel, as well as the Ref. 4809 (1991) with the manually wound caliber 16-250 movement. The Ref. 5115 (2000) with the manually wound caliber 215 PS reappears with the curved lugs inspired by the Ref. 96D. The Ref. 5120 with straight lugs and the self-winding caliber 240 movement debuted in 2001.

New case 39mm case size

With its slightly extended, finer Roman numerals and enlarged case (36 mm instead of 33.5 mm), the Ref. 5119 (2006) is a re-edition of the Ref. 3919, but retains the manually wound caliber 215 PS and the straight lugs. In 2009, it is complemented with the Ref. 5116 with a dial in grand feu enamel.

A cult model with a reworked design

Patek Philippe has endowed this Calatrava “Clous de Paris” with fresh elan by updating its iconic design in a very contemporary manner. The new Ref. 6119 – the number pays tribute to the storied 3919 legend and the Ref. 5119 from 2006 – distinguishes itself mainly with the slightly larger diameter of 39 mm. It reflects the changing preferences of our era and emphasizes its presence on the wrist without compromising the slender elegance of its case.

A further design development: Black lacquered Roman numerals on a white background in the Refs. 3919 and 5119 have been replaced by applied faceted “obus” markers in 18K gold (with double markers at 12 o’clock). These markers emphasize the timelessly sleek aspect of the dial with its larger diameter. Thus, Patek Philippe has returned to the roots of the Calatrava design vocabulary and to the Refs. 96 (1932) and 96D (1934). They were endowed with the same type of hour markers. The gold dauphine-style hour and minute hands also recall the Ref. 96 but have three instead of two facets. They assure excellent legibility not least because of the railway-track minute scale at the periphery of the dial. The slender “cheveu”-style seconds hand rotates on the subsidiary subdial at 6 o’clock which is divided into four quarters.

A totally new manually wound movement

With the introduction of a totally new manually wound movement, the Ref. 6119 Calatrava “Clous de Paris” establishes a new milestone in the history of Patek Philippe’s most famous timepiece collection. Its launch gives Patek Philippe the opportunity to present a brand new base movement that enriches the broad range of manufacture calibers. Its development is based on the desire to have a manually wound movement with a larger diameter than the caliber 215 PS. It allows the creation of exceptionally slender cases as a prerequisite for timeless elegance. The new caliber 30-255 PS has an inside case diameter of 30.4 mm (overall diameter 31 mm) as opposed to 21.5 mm for the 215 PS (overall diameter 21.9 mm) and an unchanged height of 2.55 mm as indicated by its designation.

To preserve the height of 2.55 mm of the caliber 215 movement, the engineers and designers of the manufacture implemented several ingenious solutions, among them a central pinion without a wheel plate that meshes with the center wheel via an intermediate wheel as well as a ratchet wheel and a crown located beneath the barrel bridge instead of above it.