Patek Philippe 5960/1A-001
The 5960 is an important reference in Patek history as it was the brand's first in-house automatic chronograph–an important achievement in any brand's lifetime. When the ref. 5960P was first launched in 2006, it won instant acclaim. It was the manufacture's first self-winding chronograph, manifested a new and unique style with its prominent mono-counter and three large calendar apertures, and quickly established itself as one of the most coveted timepieces of the Patek Philippe portfolio. The success story continued with further versions in rose gold. Now, the letter 'A' in the model designation 5960/1A —which stands for 'acier', steel in French— announces a paradigm change. The Annual Calendar Chronograph in stainless steel is not only the latest sibling of its lineage but had also replaced the gold and platinum versions. It offers a number of subtle, yet effective changes over its more precious predecessors.
The Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Chronograph ref. 5960/1A is fitted with a highly polished stainless steel case measuring 40.5 mm in diameter, a display case back and is water resistant to a depth of 30 meters. Equipped with pump chronograph pushers, the watch stays true to Patek's design principles when it comes to chronographs. To ease the operation of setting the annual calendar, the watch is fitted with three correctors on the case band.Technical elegance also characterizes the new silvery-gray dial with its striking red accents, interesting bright-dark contrasts, and the dynamic, performance-oriented looks of its explicitly three-dimensional architecture. An uncommon feature in a Patek Philippe watch: the red "1" in the date aperture, which kicks off each month with a colorful stimulus while the dates from the 2nd to the 31st days are displayed black on white. This feature makes the Ref. 5960/1A-001 not only elegant but very sporty at the same time. The dial layout is very well balanced featuring a mono-counter 12-hour chronograph at 6, day-date-month apertures between 10 and 2, a power reserve indicator at 12 o'clock and a black and white minute rail track fitted with luminescent markers. The hands and the calendar displays are powered by the Patek Philippe CH 28-520 IRM QA 24H caliber with flyback chronograph and Annual Calendar as well as power-reserve and day/night indications. It beats with a frequency of 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 hertz), which assures a constant balance amplitude and thus high rate accuracy. A heavy central rotor in 21K gold winds the watch automatically. It offers minimum 45 hours to maximum 55 hours power reserve.