Introduced in 1998, the Patek Philippe ref. 5059 along with its sister ref. 5050 stood out as the only wristwatches with center seconds and a perpetual calendar at that time since the vintage ref. 2497 and 2438. Its distinct charm lies in the officer-style case, measuring 36mm in diameter, featuring a hinged caseback. Within this elegant case resides a perfectly symmetrical white dial adorned with painted black Roman numerals and the retrograde date indication.
Both the ref. 5050 and 5059 share the sophisticated, self-winding caliber 315 S-QR, which boasts a striking 21K gold rotor. As a robust and state-of-the-art in-house movement, it showcases the intriguing retrograding date, a feature notoriously challenging to implement reliably in watchmaking. While this function was previously seen on exceedingly rare Patek Philippe watches of the past, it had never been featured on a regular production model until the ref. 5050 and 5059.
The present ref. 5059 crafted in pink gold is a rare gem as most examples of this reference were encased in white gold instead. Discontinued in 2006, it made way for the new ref. 5159 which boasts a larger case size. Accompanied by its original Certificate of Origin and presentation box, this presents a wonderful opportunity to acquire an understated and refined perpetual calendar wristwatch crafted by Patek Philippe.