The most classic Calatrava

Patek Philippe Ref. 96, still looks very much like the current Ref. 5196.  

Picture from European Watch Co.and is used with their permission.
 No republication of the same should be made without permission
 from the source.

Calatrava. In 1932 Patek Philippe launched a line of elegant round faced watches as its Calatrava line which were the companies first commercially available wristwatches. The very first Calatrava was the Ref. 96. Probably in recognition of the Ref. 96's status in the history of Patek Philippe, the company maintains three watch models based on the original Ref. 96.

Ref. 5196. The Ref. 5196 is the current version on Patek's line-up up which is closest to the original Ref. 96. It is a base model watch, without a date display and is powered by a manually wound movement.  Maybe the most significant change in the watch is the increase in size, the original Ref. 96 had a case diameter of 30, millimeters. The current model, in keeping with current trends has a case diameter of 37 millimeters. We have more details on the Ref. 5196 in a previous article on the here. 

Ref. 5296. The Ref. 5296 is the more contemporary version of the Ref. 96. Powered by a self-winding movement, and with a date display, it is the most common configuration for a watch today: a Date watch. It comes with the traditional gold stick markers and hands, but the blue sector dialed version (picture above) is the most distinctive. 

A 1934 Ref. 96 featuring a sector dial.

What is not know to many is that this modern looking sector dialed version, is actually a very classic design which was first released in 1933 of 1934. We have more details on the Ref. 5296 in a previous article on the here.  

Ref. 5396. Patek Philippe is best known for the complication watches. The  Ref. 5396 is an annual calendar watch based on the design of the original Ref. 96. We have more details on the Ref. 5396 in a previous article on the here.

These are the three Patek Philippe models, which are arguably their most classic models, since they are based on the first commercial wristwatch the company manufactured.

About Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe & Co. was founded in Switzerland in 1851. The companies emblem, the Calatrava Cross, was adopted by it at the end of the 19th Century. It is acknowledged as one of the finest, if not the finest, watchmaker in the world.