Each spring, the new releases from the storied independent watch house Patek Philippe are nearly as highly anticipated as those from Rolex. This year sees Patek updating perennial favourites in what appears to be a trend across brands for 2024’s edition of Watches & Wonders. For some brands, this move can seem overly conservative, but for Patek Philippe—a storied independent brand with a catalogue full of genre-defining designs—updating the classics can be even more satisfying for collectors than dropping new and daring watches.
If we had to sum up this year’s offerings from Patek Philippe, it would be this: There’s a lot of rose gold, a surprising amount of denim—yes, as in blue jeans—and no new Nautilus.
Patek has made some interesting moves over the past five years or so, asserting its history and heritage rather than caving in to the heated demand for trending watches. For example, late in 2021, Patek famously cancelled the stainless steel Nautilus 5711, a move that can only be read as not only a defiance of the integrated steel bracelet watch trend, but also as an attempt to avoid being overly identified with one 1970s model as Audemars Piguet is with its Royal Oak. Instead, Patek moved its outdoorsy emphasis back onto the Calatrava line—especially 2022’s 5226G field watch—historically the only Patek to actually see military action. In this manner, Patek has asserted a more accurate history for itself.
It is only in this context that one can really make sense of Patek Philippe’s releases for 2024, which are decidedly an assertion of its storied history. This year’s 5236P in-line perpetual calendar with a rose-gold opaline (a.k.a. salmon) dial is emblematic of this assertion. Th 5236 is a traditionally styled perpetual calendar with a totally unique, yet understated, four-disc complication displaying the day, date, and month. Or consider the Aquanauts for 2024, which deliberately push against the norms of the integrated bracelet watch category, here offered in cool blue-greys and paired with denim. And even the paved Aquanaut retains the core design elements of that now-revered model.
Below you will find every new Patek Philippe model for 2024.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5980 60G Aquanaut Flyback Chronograph
As if we needed further evidence that Patek Philippe is actively creating a more casual vibe across its catalogue in the past few years, a denim strap on a major complication such as this Aquanaut Flyback Chronograph seals the case. Take a breath and take it in: Patek Philippe is wearing Levi’s! Of course, that strap is a delicately woven affair attached to premium-grade calfskin, not to mention one of the most highly coveted watches in modern history.
That strap might not have worked if it weren’t so perfectly matched to the opaline blue-grey dial encased in a massive piece of white gold and adorned with white-gold markers and hands. And if that’s your vibe, there is a set of matching cuff links available—a must-get, in our opinion, if you’re going for the Ref. 5980 60G.
The calibre CH 28-520 C/522 is a self-winding flyback chronograph that totalises on concentric scales found on the subdial at 6 o’clock. Following Patek’s talent for making highly complex functions look minimalist, this flyback conceals its chronographic nature to offer up a far more elegant visage than your standard two- or three-register version. That added dose of elegance is a very good thing, given that Patek is now rocking the hardest working material in the menswear world.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5164G Aquanaut Travel Time
We’ve seen this watch in rose gold with a brown dial and matching brown rubber strap, so here we see a cool colourway with a white-gold case and a steely blue dial and strap. For fans of the Travel Time complication, this model is going to be great news.
The calibre 26-330 S C FUS is an incredibly useful movement for the globetrotter. Offering dual time zones on the main dial, one simply uses the left-side pushers to jump the local hour hand to wherever it’s needed. Meanwhile, the hollow hour hand stays put, tracking whatever your home time is. One of the unique and most useful features of this movement is the inclusion of dual am/pm indicators, clearly marked “Home” and “Local.” After a short while, reading those two times on the main dial becomes intuitive, so you won’t accidentally ring up someone in the middle of the night.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5269R Aquanaut Travel Time
Yes, it’s quartz, and while that may disappoint some of the diehard fans of high horology, others will enjoy the ease of use, incredible precision, and the thin 8.77 mm case. Rose gold and slate blue come together in beautiful contrast here, with the 38.8 mm case ready for wrists of all sizes. We even wonder if—as watch size continues to creep downward for men—whether this Ref. 5269R won’t appeal to the guys out there. It’s not like Patek pinked it out, after all, and that’s a great blue colour.
What’s super about the Travel Time collection is, of course, the ability to so easily follow home time and away time. When that hollow hand is hiding behind the solid hour hand, you’re on home time. Pull the crown out to position one, and you can move the local hour hand (the solid one) forward or backward as needed. The am/pm indicator below the 6 o’clock marker tells you whether it’s day or night back home, and we think the lack of a date aperture here is actually spot on; it allows for symmetry, clean lines, and the ultimate luxury of not caring about the date because it’s travel time.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5520RG Alarm Travel Time
For fans of Patek’s Travel Time watches, the addition of an alarm and date wheel was a welcome surprise when the Ref. 5520P hit the market in 2019. Those additions also allowed the Ref. 5520 to move from the “complication” category into rare air of Patek’s “grand complications.” That may be a semantic distinction, but the addition of a working mechanical alarm into an already very complicated watch is, we think, rather distinguished.
Alarm watches were something of a trend in the decades following World War II, and there has been a small revival of the mechanical alarm complication among brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breguet, Richard Mille, and Hublot in recent decades. But few of those offerings are as compelling as Patek’s alarm complication, because the calibre AL 30-660 S C FUS is simply a pleasure to use, to gaze upon, and to hear. The Travel Time series has always offered a simple way to track dual time zones while abroad, and the addition of the alarm complication has not fouled that elegant complication one bit. Especially well done is the digital display of the alarm time setting below 12 o’clock, which allows for accurate alarms compared to the more common rotating alarm hand mounted to the central arbor.
For 2024, Patek has given us the 5220RG, a lovely rose-gold version with a grey sunburst dial and generous luminescent accents throughout the dial. There’s something in this colourway which adds even more old-world charm to this already retro-styled timepiece.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5738 1R Ellipse
Let’s begin with the solid rose-gold chain bracelet, a first for the Golden Ellipse of the modern era, and certainly a throwback to yesteryear. The woven bracelet has been a bit of a lost art in the tool-watch-obsessed 21st century, but some of the most meticulous and beautiful work performed in producing watches is right there dangling from the case. There are 363 single elements in that bracelet, which is held together with an engraved clasp that adjusts to three positions. Bravo, Patek—you’re bringing the lost art home!
This watch measures reasonably for its shape, at 34.5mm across. That may sound tiny to some, but oversized oval and rectangular watches don’t always look so elegant. Also, the intended effect of wearing such a timepiece is to find yourself wearing a wonderful bracelet, which also happens to have a watch attached in the middle. Not that the watch here is an afterthought, but it certainly isn’t as dominant as on your Calatrava or Nautilus.
All of this is to suggest that—perhaps with no intention to do so whatsoever—Patek Philippe may have just nailed a unisex bullseye.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5330G World Time Date
If the visage of this watch looks familiar, that’s because it’s engraving and basic layout are derived from the well-received 5935 World Timer Split-Seconds Chronograph grand complication, and because this watch was released as a limited edition in Tokyo during 2023. Now part of the general collection, the Ref. 5330G rounds out Patek’s world timers with the casual vibe becoming increasingly common in their catalogue.
Powered by the self-winding calibre 240 HU, the 5330G offers 24-hour and am/pm indication for all 24 time zones. When pressing the actuator at 10 o’clock, you will simultaneously advance the hour hand by one hour and the city disc by 1/24th of a rotation, which keeps the watch aligned with your local time while showing you the relative times around the work accurately.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5160/500R Retorgrade Perpetual Calendar
In 1925, Patek Philippe released a gorgeous, highly engraved gold perpetual calendar humbly known as the Ref. 91975. That watch happened to be the world’s first perpetual calendar packed into a small case with lugs and strapped to the wrist—a “wrist watch,” they eventually called it, a novel concept in 1925. Patek revived the spirit of the 91975 in the 2010s with the 5160, a watch that may look over the top in high-resolution digital images, but which (we can confirm) is surprisingly quiet and elegant in person. In fact, one of our staff writers unexpectedly fell into a stupor of horological love over the white gold Ref. 5160 upon first strapping it to his wrist.
For 2024, Patek Philippe has brought the Ref. 5160 back again with a rose-gold “gentleman’s case” featuring the original’s hinged caseback and a silvered opaline dial as elegantly laid out as any of Patek’s grand complications. Modern 5160s feature blackened Breguet numerals, a massive spade hour hand, and a red-tipped hand pointing to a retrograde date arc that pleasantly leaves room at the bottom of the dial for the traditionally styled moon-phase aperture. This timepiece is part of Patek’s Rare Handcraft’s series.
Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5236P
The Ref. 5236P came out in 2021, and it was unique for its intuitive display of the day, date, and month across an aperture revealing quadruple discs at 12 o’clock (two discs are required to display both digits of the date). The self-winding calibre 31-260 required an additional 118 components for that display alone, which operates the four discs on the same plane in a tiny space. Like so many elegant, minimalist products (think iPhones), the 5236G requires exceptionally complicated work under the surface.
Housed in a 41.3 mm platinum case, this grand complication measures a remarkable 11.07 mm thick, crystal included. We’ve had the Ref. 5236P on the wrist, and while the platinum creates some heft, the wearing experience is elegant and surprisingly streamlined. What sets this year’s edition apart, of course, is the rose-gold opaline dial—or, as some opinionated collectors will argue, a genuine salmon dial. Where others have used copper, solid gold, and different coatings to achieve the elusive salmon colour, Patek has deployed the traditional approach which dates back to the era of pocket watches.
What isn’t traditional here are the charcoal-coloured white gold baton markers and hands. There’s something stealthily 21st-century about this dial due to this intriguing choice, which might feel more at home on a less traditionally styled watch. However, the manner in which the charcoal elements integrate with the black printing throughout the dial creates a quiet clarity that enhances the minimalism of this understated perpetual calendar.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5396G Annual Calendar Moonphase
This watch debuted in 1996, and it has become one of Patek Philippe’s flagship models. As one might expect, there have been a number of iterations over the years, including models in platinum, yellow gold, and rose gold, as well as models featuring Breguet numerals, baton markers, white dials, grey dials, black dials, sector dials, and so on. This year, Patek has dropped a white-gold version with a deep-blue sunburst fumé dial—not something we see often from Patek. Still in place is the compact 38.5 mm case, which measures just 11.2 mm tall and offers 30 metres of water resistance, which is impressive for this genre.
The star of the show is always the proven calibre 26-330 S QA LU 24H. What all that boils down to is an annual calendar (indicating day, date, and month) with a moon-phase and a secondary 24-hour indicator on the subdial at 6 o’clock. The latter serves as an am/pm indicator and also mimics the classic look of the circular date calendar on the now-vintage Patek reference 3448 annual calendar, which inspired the modern 5396 we see here. It is no surprise to find Patek maintaining timeless dial layouts, even as the company moves functions around the dial, as many of Patek’s mid-century designs were masterpieces of clarity and balance. It’s no exaggeration to say that the Ref. 5396P meets that lofty description.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5268-461G Aquanaut Luce Haute Joallerie
Let’s do the numbers: 72 baguette sapphires (5.29 carats), 38 baguette diamonds (2.03 carats), and 160 brilliant-cute diamonds (0.71 carats) on a white-gold watch measuring 38.8 mm by just 9.1 mm tall with 30 metres of water resistance and an automatic winding movement with 45 hours of power reserve. And, yes, all that is mounted to a rubber strap—which may, in the final analysis, make the Ref. 5268-461G the strongest case for rubber as a luxury material to date.
It’s a dazzling watch, but what strikes us is how reserved the colourway is, despite the unlimited bling here. We are especially fond of how Patek has recreated the three-dimensional grid (or globe) on the centre of the dial, giving this model that unmistakable Aquanaut visage. Where gems so often pave over the essence of the original design, this one brings it to life. That rainbow and orange version from last year was pretty out there, but Patek has reined itself back in and delivered what is sure to be a classic collectible of the 2020s. At over a quarter-million US dollars, this one will likely be the only one seen at any party.
Patek Philippe Ref. 4910 1201R Twenty-4
Since 1999, Patek’s decidedly feminine Twenty-4 series has delivered smaller scale watches, usually with quartz movements, precious metals, and gems. This year’s offering is a rose-gold cuff watch with a purple lacquered dial with lovely embossing pattern sure to shimmer along with the diamonds and gold. The case and bracelet are entirely polished, and 34 brilliant-cut diamonds weigh in at 0.63 carats.
