Patek Philippe’s reference 5040 is one of their most uniquely designed models, paying homage to their 1930s time-only tortue watches. They introduced their first serially produced perpetual calendar wristwatch with moon-phase in 1941, with the reference 1526, housed within a classic round Calatrava-style case first introduced with the references 96 and 570 in 1932 and 1938, respectively. The tortue-shape was popularized in the early 20th century with many brands using the design for wristwatches. Elegant and stylish in appeal, it was based on the silhouette of a turtle, named “tortue,” the French word for turtle. It was Patek Philippe’s first perpetual calendar to use this distinctive case design.

First released in 1992, the reference 5040 remained in production until 2007 through two series: the first, with movement numbers beginning with 77X thousand, fitted with caliber 240 114, like the present watch, and the second series, with movement numbers beginning with 3.12X million, fitted with caliber 240 116. The perpetual calendar was produced in yellow, white, and pink gold, as well as platinum, and later replaced by the round-cased references 5140J (2012) and 5140G (2014).

The present early yellow gold example from 1992 is in lovely condition, and is offered with the original Certificate of Origin, additional solid caseback, and presentation box. This is a wonderful opportunity for connoisseurs of fine timepieces to acquire a rare and undervalued perpetual calendar wristwatch manufactured by Patek Philippe.