The Ref. 5326G features two outstanding patented complications for the first time in one watch: the Annual Calendar and the Travel Time system. Here’s where one would lay their eyes on first: the new textured grey dial. The dial’s granular structure adopts a charcoal grey colour with a fine gradation to the periphery, lending contrast to the applied Arabic numerals with beige luminous coatings, along with the matching “Seringue” hands in white gold; the skeleton “Seringue” hand indicates the hours of home time.
Now in this hybrid time display, there are three apertures of the Annual Calendar — day of the week and month at 12 o’clock, and date at 6 o’clock. Two small round windows marked “Local” at 8 o’clock and “Home” at 4 o’clock are day/night indicators for local time and home time, respectively. This balanced arrangement is complemented by the subsidiary seconds that sweeps the moon-phase aperture at 6 o’clock. Where a timepiece such as this one would typically depend on a few pushers on the case sides, the Ref. 5326G houses none. The new self-winding caliber 31-260 PS QA LU FUS 24H movement is endowed with eight patents, of which includes timesetting with three crown positions and forward/ backward mechanism for the Annual Calendar.
Patek Philippe states that “the connection between the Annual Calendar and the Travel Time function involved several technical challenges. The issue wasn’t just to accommodate both mechanisms in the same case. They had to interact in such a way that the displayed date corresponded with local time, hence the time at the location of the wearer of the watch.” Thus for Ref. 5326G, the Annual Calendar is controlled by the Travel Time function and it is the local-time hour wheel that drives the calendar. The calendar indications can be adjusted with the aid of small correctors in the caseband located near the respective functions: day at 10, month at 2, date at 4 and moon phases at 8 o’clock.
To package it in style, the Ref. 5326G is housed in a new Calatrava case. Where the watch would’ve been equipped with textured vintage-style pushers, Patek Philippe did one better, by decorating the flanks with a beautiful Clous de Paris guilloché. The timepiece is delivered with two interchangeable straps, one beige calfskin with nubuck texture (original version) and the other in black calfskin with embossed textile finish and beige decorative stitching (additional strap).
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