On patek.com, the manufacture recently launched a new section under the heading “Patek Philippe TechNews”. Its purpose: to provide in-depth insights into the design and functionality of its most refined horological mechanisms with clearly structured, easily comprehensible, and vibrant videos.

After a first episode dedicated to the grand complications integrated in the Ref. 6002 Sky Moon Tourbillon (perpetual calendar with retrograde date, minute repeater, tourbillon, celestial chart), Patek Philippe is now focusing on a uniquely aesthetic watch with an unusual face: the Ref. 5235 Annual Calendar Regulator. At Baselworld 2019, it is being presented in a new version featuring a rose-gold case with a two-tone dial in graphite black graced with a vertical satin finish.

The exploratory tour begins with the historic precision timekeeping instruments called “regulators” that inspired this watch. They have a large sweep minute hand, an hour subdial at 12 o’clock, and a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock. It continues with the description of the high-tech oscillator consisting of a Pulsomax® escapement and a Spiromax® balance spring in Silinvar®. These two developments conceived by the Patek Philippe Advanced Research department pair superior rate accuracy with unparalleled reliability. Enthusiasts can also acquaint themselves with the advantages of the Annual Calendar patented by Patek Philippe in 1996. This full calendar only needs to be corrected once a year.