In 1991, the soon-to-be graduates at the Geneva School of Engineering were presented with their final project prior to receiving their diploma: to simplify the perpetual calendar.
Although the task was easier said than done, their work led to the inception of the annual calendar complication, patented by Patek in collaboration with the bright engineering minds at the GSE. Five years later, Patek debuted the Reference 5035, the world’s first-ever annual calendar movement that finally bridged the gap between a triple date function and the formidable quantième perpétuel. (An annual calendar requires adjusting once per year at the end of February, while the perpetual calendar requires no adjustment for many years.) A milestone model, the 5035 won "Swiss Watch of the Year" from the publication Montre Passion in 1996.
This particular Reference 5035R is one of the more striking configurations of this significant model. Measuring 37mm in rose gold with a beautifully stepped bezel, a signed crown, and a sapphire crystal, it features a beautiful black dial with a gold chemin de fer minute track, applied gold ‘Roman’ indices, radial day and month indicators, a 24-hour indicator, and a date window above 6 o’clock. Finished with a luminous gold ‘feuille’ handset, it’s powered by the brilliant Patek Philippe Calibre 315, an automatic movement with a gold winding rotor that requires adjustment once per year in February and that can be enjoyed via a sapphire caseback.
Paired to a signed, black leather strap with a signed, rose gold pin buckle, this scarce annual calendar represents the marriage of technical innovation with forward-looking design that nevertheless draws on nearly 200 years of aesthetic evolution. Significant and beautiful, it’s the perfect addition to a collection that respects Patek Philippe’s important place at the pinnacle of haute horlogerie.