13 Patek Philippe Rare, Striking and Catching, Annual Calendar Automatic Wristwatch, in White Gold, Copper-Colored Dial, With Extract from the Archives, Reference 5035G
Estimate: € 15,000 – 30,000
Sold (Premium)€27,300
Model: Annual Calendar
Reference: 5035G
Case Material: White Gold
Bracelet Material: Leather Strap
Year: 1996
Movement: Automatic
Caliber: 315 S QA
Case N°: 2 999 731
Movement N°: 3055288
Dimensions: 37 mm
Signed: Dial, Movement and Case
Accessories: Extract from the Archives
When Patek Philippe unveiled the reference 5035, the world’s first Annual Calendar wristwatch in 1996 it curiously left off a complication that had been a staple of its perpetual calendars for seventy years: the moon phase indicator. But this absence was worthily replaced by another interesting feature: the upgrade movement did something seemingly simple, it automatically adjusted the calendar indication for months of 30 or 31 days, leaving the owner to manually adjust the date once a year at the end of February. It immediately gained attention and was awarded as the “watch of the year” by the Swiss magazine Montres Passion at a time when awards were few. It has been manufactured in 2500 pieces for each metal: yellow, white and pink gold, as well as platinum. The dial was extremely legible and perfectly balanced but needed to differentiate the watch from a perpetual calendar, so some new features appeared. For example, the date is indicated not by an auxiliary dial, as in many perpetual calendars, but by the number in an aperture at six o’clock, making it easy to read. There is a center seconds hand, a feature not offered on perpetual calendars. The bold Roman numerals and hands have a luminous coating which is rare in a Patek, and as a final flourish, for the first time an IV rather than a IIII is placed at four o’clock. Preserved in remarkable conditions, the present white-gold example with concave lugs, screwed-down transparent case back shows nice proportions and deep hallmarks. The copper-colored dial is confirmed by the extract with all the above-mentioned features but, differently from basically all the other specimen we had the chance to examine, the one here offered has a very unusual detail: interestingly, is present an evident mistake at 5 o’clock where the usual V index has mounted with a number I, an extremely uncommon event that makes this watch possibly unique.