Exclusives, live. There is nothing more classic than a Patek Philippe Calatrava. Timelessness is something to aspire toward and Patek Philippe understand that more than any other brand. But the Calatrava is a long and varied line, not just one thing. This a ref. 2572 from 1955, and it leans very hard into mid-century design cues that wouldn't go amiss in a Mad Men episode or boardroom today. Plus, this is the only example we've seen signed by the Swiss family-retailer Gubelin.
The case design is really quite unusual, it's almost a disco volante design but the bezel is much thinner, with a super-recessed crown. Its lugs are not the sweeping elongated style of the 1940s classics, but updated to be quite minimal and rounded. They reach from the bottom of the case at an aggressive angle that really wraps this already flat 36mm 18k yellow gold case to the wrist. Inside beats a manual caliber 10-200, finished to a Geneva Seal standard entirely by hand with a Gyromax balance and swan-neck regulator. Despite being nearly 70 years old, it's spot on timing. The hard enamel dial sports raised gold hour markers that are beginning to very lightly oxidize and show just a hint of purple, same with its solitary Arabic numeral at 12. It's restrained, minimal, and shows just the slightest bit of contemporary sporting edge with its petite seconds crosshair.
The Calatrava is fun to explore not just for its minimalism and endless variation, but the fact that even when utterly stripped down, the time at which a Calatrava was made influences even the smallest details. Each is a family member with a certain continuous thread, but each also influenced by the machining ability and design attitudes of its time. This case proportion is something not seen at any other time, same too for its dial with a solitary 12 and crosshair. The 2572 is 1950s to the core, but because it's just the basics seen through a '50s lens and frozen in time, it will never be out of style. Don Draper looks as good today as ever. The only way he could have looked any smarter is if the set designers had matched this with his grey suits.
