In 1996, Patek created the annual calendar as a simpler and more accessible alternative to the perpetual calendar. Patek Philippe, famed for mastering the perpetual calendar like no one else in the industry, came up with a novel concept: a calendar that would be nearly as useful as a perpetual calendar but would be simpler and most importantly, more accessible. They were granted a patent in 1996 for a calendar watch that required only one adjustment every year, during the transition from February to March, indicating that it was automatically identifying 30- and 31-day months — requiring just one adjustment per year, at the end of February.

The Patek Philippe 5396 annual calendar has been one of the most traditional and classical alternatives from Patek Philippe collection since its release in 2006. Offering a cleaner, more elegant and somewhat contemporary alternative to the more conservative annual calendar with subdials ref. 5146. Being released in a variation of silvery-white or grey dials (with appliques or Breguet numerals), Patek Philippe has opted to give this model a splash of color by pairing it with a pink gold case and a deep navy blue dial.

The dial is well-balanced, open, and clean. All the complication elements are centered on the 12-to-6 axis, giving room for a more aerial dial. The indexes are facetted appliques with a triangular tip. The minutes are also shown by gold dots, which is a Patek characteristic. With a beautifully proportioned diameter of 38.5mm, the Patek Philippe 5396R case is elegant yet modest. The present pink gold with blue dial variation is of immense charm and was in production for only two brief years: from 2017 to 2018. Preserved in excellent overall condition the present 5396R is certainly an opportunity to add a splash of color yet elegance to one's collection.