A Brief History of Patek Philippe's Perpetual Calendar Watches

The British watchmaker Thomas Mudge built the first working perpetual calendar pocket watch in 1762, and then watchmakers ignored the grueling complication until Patek Philippe executed one for a pocket watch in 1864 In 1898 the maison built the world's first compact perpetual calendar for a woman's pendant watch, and in 1925 - after wristwatches had become in vogue for men - Patek used the same compact movement inside the world's first perpetual calendar wristwatch, a one-off produced for a wealthy collector named Thomas Emery Where some brands today make a show of every possible complication of their perpetual calendars - and sometimes the movement itself via skeletonized dials - Patek continues to prioritize elegance over complexity, as is the brand's wont.

In 1951, Patek Philippe brought out the venerable 2499, a perpetual calendar with full chronograph function and a moon phase complication, and the successor to the famous 1518 We jump to 2008's 5207 because - despite the myriad perpetual calendars that came out before it - the 5207 features a patented perpetual calendar mechanism that jumps instantaneously, as well as a minute repeater, a moon phase, and a tourbillon The 5207's understated dial continues the stylistically conservative approach Patek has always taken with its perpetual calendars.

Patek may not make a lot of these watches, but they produce them right along with the rest of their catalog, thus continuing the spirit of the very first serially produced perpetual calendars from 1941. . Source