From a pilot-styled timepiece to a grand complication: New chronographs highlight Swiss watchmaker's technical mastery

MENTION PATEK PHILIPPE AND YOU inevitably think about the exquisite timepiece you never actually own but "merely look after for the next generation". After all, each creation that leaves its manufacture is heirloom-worthy and meticulously handcrafted - from minute repeaters to perpetual calendars and the three new chronographs recently launched: Ref. 5905R-010, Ref. 5924G and Ref. 5204G-001.

Making history When auction house Christie's released a list last year of the 10 most desirable Patek Philippe references to have passed through its hands, the Ref. 1518 stood out. Introduced in 1941 - although the Christie's piece was from 1948 - it was the first time a perpetual calendar was paired with a chronograph in a wristwatch.

This year, Patek Philippe presents a new version of its beloved calendar-chronograph combination in the Ref. 5905R-010, a handsome self-winding flyback chronograph with annual calendar.

A handy complication, the annual calendar takes into account months with both 30 and 31 days, requiring just one date adjustment each year at the end of February. Watch collectors will know Patek Philippe was the first to unveil an annual calendar in a wristwatch back in 1996, the Ref. 5035.

This year's Ref. 5905R-010 is powered by the self-winding Caliber CH 28-520 QA 24H and housed in a new 18K rose gold case with a sunburst blue dial, paired with a shiny dark blue alligator leather strap.

In a first for the Swiss Manufacture, Patek Philippe is also adding a chronograph to its line of Pilot-style timepieces, inspired by aviators' watches from the 1930s. Based on Patek Philippe's first pilot's watch, the Ref. 5524G-001 from 2015, the new self-winding Ref. 5924G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Chronograph features similar aesthetics with the most obvious change, apart from the chronograph counters, being the shift of the pushers from the left side of the case to the right. However, the role of the pushers have also changed, with the Ref. 5524's pushers dedicated to the travel time functions and the Ref. 5924's pushers used to work the chronograph.

Like the 2015 model, the new version is equipped with a travel time function with the date linked to the local time. Available in white gold with a blue-grey sunburst dial or lacquered khaki green dial and paired with a matching navy blue or khaki green calfskin strap, the watch comes with its signature applied numerals and sword-shaped hands in white gold with luminescent coating.

Rounding up the trio of chronographs is an impressive grand complication, the Ref. 5204G-001. Featuring the manual-winding Caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q with seven patented innovations, the new model is a descendant of the Ref. 5204, a split-seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar.

When it was released in 2012, Ref. 5204 was celebrated as the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph to feature luminous hands and indices. Its predecessor, the Ref. 5004 had gold applied numerals instead.

With its white gold case and olive green sunburst dial, the Ref. 5204G-001 once again features luminescent hands and baton indices. A transparent caseback - interchangeable with a solid one - offers an unobstructed look into the precise finishing of the manual-winding movement.

Where tradition meets innovation

Of course, there's a reason Patek Philippe can flex its watchmaking chops in chronographs. It's had almost 170 years of practice since it produced its first chronograph pocket watch in 1856.

Back then, the Manufacture's co-founder, Antoine Norbert de Patek, had made a trip to the US and noted the demand there for timekeepers that enabled the wearers to accurately tell the speed of their horses to a quarter of a second. The resulting innovation - the Ref. 10 051 - would become the foundation of future Patek Philippe chronographs.

In 1902, Patek Philippe filed a patent for the first double chronograph. Two decades later, it sold its first split-seconds chronograph wristwatch. Over the course of the next few decades, Patek Philippe would add other complications to the chronograph - dual time zones, perpetual calendar, and even a world timer. It's testament to Patek Philippe's belief in making watches that are useful in everyday situations and something each generation will enjoy as they look after it for the next.

Visit The Hour Glass website to find out more about Patek Philippe Chronograph watches.