Watches And Wonders 2024: A Bold Evolution Of The Patek Philippe Annual Calendar 5396 With A White Gold Case And Blue Dial

The 5396 Annual Calendar has sat as a classical calendar timepiece in Patek Philippe’s catalog since 2006. It offers a pleasant aside against the brand’s sub-dial based annual calendars which follow the reserved aesthetic of the reference 5146. At Watches and Wonders 2024, Patek Philippe breathes flamboyance into the collection by giving it a white gold case and blue sunburst dial pairing realized in the Reference 5396G-017.

Patek Philippe’s Refined and Bold Annual Calendar

As part of the flagship examples at Patek Philippe, the Annual Calendar complication has brewed up a fair total of references at the Maison. These have been realized in myriad material and dial color combinations with each one expressing a distinctive selection of dial furniture and finishing techniques. At Watches and Wonders 2024, we get a bold contemporary makeover of the current generation ref. 5396 with the introduction of the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Reference 5396 realized in a new 38.5 mm white gold case featuring a sunburst blue dial with black-gradient rim.

As a discreet delight on the timepiece, we get twelve baguette-cut diamond hour markers as a radiant spotlight on the dial. The dial architecture is formed of a double day/month aperture at 12 o'clock, date aperture at 6 o'clock and 24-hour sub-dial with an integrated moon-phase display. Despite the heft of its complications and multiple displays, the timepiece with a 21K gold self-winding central rotor measures a scanty 11.2 mm in thickness, compliant with strict dress watch codes.

A Perfect Mechanical Complement

Under the hood of the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar 5396G-017 released at Watches and Wonders 2024 resides a self-winding engine 26-330 S QA LU 24H. It gets perfectly decorated with high horology finishing techniques and is regulated to oscillate at 4 Hz. It maintains a maximum possible power reserve of 45 hours and drives the total of its time and calendar functions.

The chief novelty in the timepiece remains to be the case material and dial color pairing which is a modern Patek Philippe standard. The aesthetic retains a darling classical charm despite being far from conservative. This iteration of the blue dial plays a wonderful ocular symphony in combination with the lustrous surface of its polished white gold case.