Patek Philippe's new Annual Calendar watch ticks all the right boxes

‘Annual Calendar Regulator 5235/50R’ watch, £47,620, by Patek Philippe

(Image credit: Pauline Caranton)

Originally launched in 1996, Patek Philippe’s ‘Annual Calendar’ watch stripped back a complicated mechanism, imbuing its notorious complexity with a design purity and focusing on ease of use.

This contemporary approach to watchmaking was complimented by a nod to its history upon the introduction of the first ‘Regular’ models a decade ago. In their movement and dial layout, they referenced the clocks put in watch shops to help watchmakers regulate the watches they were working on, hence the name. This interweaving of the past and the present reaches its pinnacle in the elegant ‘Annual Calendar Regulator 5235/50R’ incarnation. Encased in rose gold with a two-tone graphite and ebony dial and a vertical satin finish, it’s an elegant accessory for a black-tie do, making it a natural choice for our entertaining issue.

A version of this story appeared in the December 2023 Entertaining Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print from 9 November, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!

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Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat art trends and conducted in-depth profiles, as well as writing and commissioning extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys travelling, visiting artists' studios and viewing exhibitions around the world, and has interviewed artists and designers including Maggi Hambling, William Kentridge, Jonathan Anderson, Chantal Joffe, Lubaina Himid, Tilda Swinton and Mickalene Thomas.