Only Watch 2015: Patek Philippe 5016A-010

Only Watch 2015: Patek Philippe 5016A-010

One of the great classics of the Patek Philippe wrist Grand Complications between 1993 and 2011, Reference 5016 unites in its Calatrava-style case three of the complications most highly prized by devotees of exceptional watches: the tourbillon, the minute repeater and the perpetual calendar with moon-phase display. As an additional refinement, the perpetual calendar is endowed with a retrograde date hand, which flies back to the 1st of the month after having reached the 28th, 29th, 30th or 31st under the action of an ingenious mechanism controlled by a spiral-coiled spring. This graceful interplay of sophisticated functions is orchestrated by a movement comprising 506 parts, all painstakingly finished by hand with the dedication to excellence for which the manufacture is known. 

Reference 5016A-010 was created specially for Only Watch 2015 and is the first and only version of this watch to be produced in steel. The sheen of this metal, rarely seen in a Patek Philippe Grand Complication, compliments a blue enameled dial that perpetuates the tradition of the rare handcrafts. 

Ref. 5016A-010 

Caliber R TO 27 PS QR. Manual winding. Minute repeater. Tourbillon. Perpetual calendar with retrograde date hand. Day, month and leap year in apertures. Moon phases. Seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. Blue enameled dial with gold applied Breguet numerals. 18K gold dial plate. Alligator leather strap, shiny navy blue, hand-stitched. Fold-over clasp. Interchangeable full back and sapphire-crystal case back. Case is humidity and dust protected only (not water resistant). Case diameter: 36.8 mm. Steel.