Today we will talk with you about the new Patek Philippe 5236P In-Line Perpetual Calendar.
Patek Philippe’s news for this 2021
After a 2020 characterised by both a change in the format and in the audience, this 2021 sees maisons as absolute true protagonists once again, successfully combining great ideas from the past with modern technology, creating innovative watches with an eye on history.
This year the maison has decided to divide the releases in two, starting from the new Nautilus release (available here), revealed on April 7th during the digital event and ending on with the new grand complications (available here), that left us speechless.
The in-line Perpetual Calendar
This watch is the first perpetual calendar with a single opening in line in the world showing the day, the date and the month, inspired by a pocket watch presented by the brand from Geneva in 1979 (ref. 725/4). With this release Thierry Stern, CEO of the maison, must have thought about the need to birth new perpetual calendars, maximizing visibility and readability, feeling that accompanied must have accompanied the chief executive officer since the creation of the 5970, his first project orientated to this purpose. This timepiece presents easy to access calendar information being that it is arranged in a straight line, making this one of the strengths of this 5236.
On the original pocket watch, presenting a 46mm diameter, we can notice the presence of three disks, one for each reading, however when Patek’s engineers tried to utilize the 3 disk configuration on a 41 millimeter they noticed that the date would have been too small.
In order to resolve this problem it was decided to instead utilize a date indicator composed of two parts, that of the day surrounded by the decimals of the date and that of the months inside the units.
This new configuration is coplanar, thus meaning that all the disks are on the same level, using a spherical double pillow system that impedes the rubbing and makes the movement much more fluid
For this innovative solution three new patents were registered, creating a system made up of 118 parts more than a regular perpetual calendar from the same maison. This constant research of beauty and complexity has brought us a magnificent tribute to the most iconic models in Patek’s history.
The caliber 31-260 PS QL
Another important factor to mention and take in consideration is the spectacular 31-260 PS QL caliber of which we are surprised by the presence of a micro rotor in platinum, often used for the case but infrequently for the internal components. This is in fact only the second watch produced by the renowned swiss company to have a micro rotor in platinum, the only predecessor was the 5208, a unique piece created for OnlyWatch.
This particular detail, says Patek, was necessary to support the increase of the operative frequency from 3,2 to 4 hertz (28.800 semi-swings an hour), simplifying the adjustments of precision at the tolerance specified by Patek, making it even easier to adjust.
The 31-260 PS QL caliber is endowed of rotor that decouples the automatic winder as soon as the movement receives manual charge: an invention of Patek itself that was patented in 2019 aimed at reducing wear and offers a better viewing angle of the overall architecture and the refined finissage, made visible by the clear sapphire crystal clear back, that can be replaced by a solid platinum one that comes with the watch
The new Patek Philippe 5236P
The Patek Philippe 5236P In-line Perpetual Calendar made its debut exclusively in platinum (like the “P” suggests in the reference number).
Speaking of its esthetic presentation, we can’t leave out the superb quality of the manufacture on the lacquered brass clock face, in an ever-darkening blue towards the outside. This detail, along with the central widow of the calendar make this timepiece user friendly yet extremely elegant.
Other noteworthy details are the two small windows at 4 and 8 o’clock, respectively for the leap year and the night/day indications, that surround the display of the lunar phases at 6 o’clock with the second hand.
The case has a 41,3mm diameter, measuring 48,61mm from handle to handle with a 11,07 mm width. The hand woven crocodile strap in “Shiny navy blue” embellished by a magnificent foldable buckle in platinum 950.
The Patek Philippe 5236P has a price of 117.256 CHF. To learn more visit the brand’s website
Author: Matteo Ingrosso
Translated by: Tommaso Metzger
