When it comes to high complications, few brands can match the elegance and prolific output of Patek Philippe. As part of its Watches and Wonders 2024 novelties, this Swiss marque revives one of its most dramatic, baroque complication offerings in a rich new colorway. The new Patek Philippe Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Rare Handcrafts reference 5160/500R-001 offers uniquely elegant perpetual calendar functionality in a rich new rose gold filigree case, creating one of the most striking and complex novelties of the show so far.

Patek Philippe houses the Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Rare Handcrafts reference 5160/500R-001 in a remarkably compact 38mm wide, 11.81mm thick rose gold case. Ornate and classically elegant in images, this case features narrow, downturned straight lugs and a soft, rounded case side profile. Of course, it’s the ornate filigree engraving that stands out in images here, with every major flat surface from the narrow sloping bezel to the main mid-case and the lug surfaces hand-engraved with a classical mix of volute and foliage patterns inspired by an early pocket watch in Patek Philippe’s museum collection. With an old-school opulence that calls to mind locomotives and handmade Holland and Holland shotguns, it’s a look that may not suit all tastes, but it’s one that rewards close inspection with a wealth of fine detail. Elements like the flowing rounded crown guard and the small cushion crown give the design a sense of old-school softness in images, but if there’s one case component that truly shines here it’s the officer caseback. Fully finished with leaf-style filigree and topped with an ornate Patek Philippe scroll emblem, this hinged caseback protects a sapphire display window that is further decorated with a hand-engraved filigree border. Taken as a whole, it’s a brilliant exhibition of classical luxury finishing and an impressive showcase of Patek Philippe’s hand-engraving capability.

For the dial of the Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Rare Handcrafts reference 5160/500R-001, Patek Philippe continues the watch’s opulent, classical design philosophy. The main silver opaline dial surface is finished in a restrained matte, but Patek Philippe gives this surface an ornate flourish with more hand-engraved filigree-style guillochage inboard of the retrograde pointer date scale and surrounding the 6 o’clock moonphase window. The rest of the dial layout is suitably traditional as well- blackened, applied white gold Breguet hours numerals, an elegantly slim black spade handset, and rounded navy blue minutes numerals along the outer seconds scale give this design a classical, almost rococo feel in initial images. The brand’s integration of its perpetual calendar complication is notably balanced and thoughtful in images as well. While the red-tipped pointer hand and exaggerated Arabic numerals of the retrograde pointer date display jump to the fore at first glance, the simple, crisp double-framed day, leap year, and month windows at 9 o’clock, 12 o’clock, and 3 o’clock all evenly distribute visual weight across this dial layout.

Inside the Patek Philippe Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Rare Handcrafts reference 5160/500R-001 beats the manufacture 26-330 S QR automatic perpetual calendar moonphase movement. Beyond the intricate and unique complication layout, the 26-330 S QR is handsomely finished in initial photos, with broad Côtes de Genève across its nearly full bridges, perlage for the mainplate, polished anglage, and a deeply engraved rose gold rotor topped with circular Côtes de Genève and tiny, tight perlage. Patek Philippe rates the movement for between 35 and 45 hours of power reserve at a 28,800vph beat rate. The brand completes this watch with a suitably classical mahogany brown alligator leather deployant strap.

At their best, Patek Philippe complication pieces tend to be opulent displays of classical horological spectacle, and the new Patek Philippe Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Rare Handcrafts reference 5160/500R-001 is no exception. With its warm, rich new rose gold and silver opaline colorway, this is one of the finest and most dramatic classically styled complications of Watches and Wonders 2024. This watch is available now through authorized dealers, and MSRP stands at 171,500 CHF as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.