ABOUT TIME CALATRAVA CLASSICISM
How Patek Philippe’s presti- gious dress watches remain elegantly ageless
By Michael A Fratangelo
Take a look around a crowded room in a casual or formal setting, and chances are high you’ll find more luxury sport watches than dress watches. Have you ever wondered where all the dress watches have gone? To think they were once the dominant expression of the wristwatch for both daily and evening wear. While they’re currently overlooked, I’m in the camp that believes a classic dress watch is a fundamen- tal piece for the modern gentleman – much the same way a pair of black dress shoes, bespoke suit, linen handkerchiefs, etc., are. It can be an object that emotionally connects the wearer to a world of pure craftsmanship, quality, and style. Patek Philippe has excelled in designing exceptional time-on- ly watches with classic forms to meet those casual moments, and for those occasions requiring greater elegance. Let’s take a closer look and get reacquainted with what makes them classically extraordinary. When I joined the manufacturer, they took me to school on the dress watch, and I learned how our prestigious dress watches remain elegantly ageless. They taught me the prin- ciples that exist at their very core. I’ll share a handful of them with you here: • When the numerals of a watch are the only decoration of a dial, it leaves imperfections no place to hide. • Liberating the dial from clutter creates an area in which imperfection finds no shelter. • The importance of perfect proportions to achieve visual balance. • The bezel, and the finishing of the case become more prom - inent attributes with no other distractions stealing their spot - light. • Dimension achieved by hand-applied hour markers, dial hands, and even the framing of a date window
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