Patek Philippe’s Calatrava is one of the quintessential dress watches of history. Admittedly it occasionally moonlights as a pilot’s watch or grand complication, but the classic expression of it is as a purebred dress watch. That’s what we have here with the new Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref. 6196P-001 Platinum, which we had the fortune of getting hands-on with at Watches & Wonders 2025.
The first thing that stands out is the full platinum case. Platinum is quite a funny material because with its high lustre and white-silver metallic tone, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish from white gold or even highly polished steel at a glance. However, platinum is so much more prestigious than either of those materials that watchmakers often feel the need to signpost when a watch is made from it. Rolex do that by giving their platinum watches the same sky-blue dial, as seen on the new platinum Land-Dweller. Patek do it by setting a single diamond into the side of the case at 6 o’clock, which you can see here on the Calatrava’s 38mm case between the lugs.
On the wrist it feels super svelte between that 38mm diameter and a thickness of only 9.33mm. That slimness is possible because the platinum case houses a manual-winding movement, the calibre 30255 PS, meaning no bulky rotor system. It has a 65-hour power reserve so there’s not a constant nagging to keep it wound. You can view the movement through the exhibition sapphire caseback, revealing the immaculate Côtes de Genève finishing across the plate.
Turning the watch back over to look at the dial, it offers a classic dress watch colour scheme. The dial itself is salmon coloured via an opaline rose gilt, a warm and gentle tone that has been popular since the early 1900s. While the rosy, pink colour has been around for ages, the term ‘salmon’ started appearing in the 1930s when brands moved away from tone-on-tone rose dials and rose gold cases to contrasting white gold or platinum cases. Giving us the silver skin of the fish with the pink flesh.
Completing the display are the anthracite coloured obus hour markers and hands. Obus translates from French as ‘artillery shell’, a reference to the pointed, facetted shape of the markers that look like they could be fired from a cannon. It’s a super minimalist display with only hours, minutes and small seconds. While we often think of grand complications as being the most difficult watches to produce, there’s a hidden difficulty in a three-hand, time only watch. There’s nowhere to hide poor craftsmanship and every small detail is easily scrutable to even the most cursory glance. And the Calatrava Ref. 6196P-001Platinum is genuinely flawless.
This level of immaculate finishing comes at a cost, as does a full platinum case with diamond setting. The watch comes out to £40,370. I think there’s a strong argument that this is the nicest purebred dress watch to have been launched at Watches & Wonders this year. Though it’s actually a close competition with the Laurent Ferrier Classic Auto Horizon.
Price and Specs:
More details at Patek Philippe.
I am not familiar with the whole PP range but, from my knowledge, PP have a reputation for producing very beautiful watches that whilst having no doubt very intricate and technically advanced mechanisms, they tend for a degree of restraint in terms of visual representation, so never overly blingy. So all good so far (IMO), they exude class and elegance.
This latest watch, (again, IMO), the restraint consideration has been used a little too much, this hasn’t got enough “lift” for a £40k watch or PP in general, just a little more visual appeal would have negated the use of the semi hidden diamond to justify the price (despite the use of platinum and the renowned PP name). I myself go for restraint in terms of most things (including watches) and class is never overstated, but this watch is a bit dull for my taste.