In-Depth Wait, What? Patek Philippe Just Released A Destro Split-Seconds Perpetual Calendar (With Hands In Fire-Engine Red)

For a lot of fans, those would be the highlights. My own reaction: Why focus on an iterative release like that when Patek also released one of the oddest and most downright fascinating high complications in recent memory?

That's exactly what the just-announced 5373P-001 is, a split-seconds monopusher chronograph combined with a perpetual calendar mechanism inside of a 38.3mm × 12.93mm round case made of heavy-hitting 950 platinum, with a dynamic charcoal-and-red vertical satin-finish livery for the dial. It's a potent mechanical combination highlighted even further by its punchy dial design that to my mind bears an ever-so-slight resemblance to a small number of unique pieces (see: here, here, and here) that Patek has previously crafted for some of its most important clients.

But that's not the weirdest part of the all-new 5373P-001. No, sir. The most unexpected element here is that the 5373P-001 actually features a so-called "destro" orientation best suited for left-handed collectors. In other words, the movement has been reversed so that the crown and chronograph pushers now reside on the nine o'clock left side of the case instead of their traditional placement on the right side around three o'clock.

If all of this is sounding mighty familiar to you right about now, it should. Everyone following along with Watches & Wonders this year walked away with a new Italian vocabulary word in their arsenal. The Italian word for "right," destro, was the unexpected buzzword of the fair – if not for the entire year! – after Rolex released the southpaw-specific GMT-Master II ref. 126720VTNR.

So is Patek Philippe copying Rolex's homework? (If so, they're at least changing a few things to make it look not as obvious, to quote a meme.) Patek Philippe isn't much in the business of imitation, and they did come prepared on launch day with receipts, citing a 1920s 18k yellow gold split-seconds chronograph in a cushion case with a "destro" orientation that was built on the request of a left-handed client and sold through Pittsburgh's former Grogan Jewelry Company. 

When that specific watch came to auction at Christie's Geneva in November 2006, it sold for a hard-to-believe total of CHF 2,372,000, a sum that made it – at the time of the sale – the seventh-most-expensive timepiece ever sold at auction. If Patek ever needed a proof of concept that a sinistral split-seconds chronograph could find an audience of collectors, it's right there.

If you compare the case format of the 1920s watch with today's release, you'll notice that they share the identical placement of the chronograph pusher at nine o'clock, rather than three o'clock, and the split-seconds pusher at eight o'clock, rather than two o'clock. But that oddball – and to my dextral-focused eyes, uncomfortable – orientation is about all they share in common. Everything from the case metal and color of the dial to the shape of hands and numerals has completely evolved, not to mention the addition of perpetual calendar functionality.

Patek Philippe, in its launch materials for the new watch, describes the new 5373P-001 as an extension of its contemporary classic Split-Seconds Monopusher Chronograph (with perpetual calendar), the ref. 5372P. And it is, in some ways. The two watches share a similar suite of functions and even have the same movement inside: the CHR 27-525 PS Q.

This is a manual-wind chronograph movement that represents the true heart of Patek Philippe as a watchmaker in the 21st century. Its architecture dates back to 2005, when Patek Philippe introduced its first-ever in-house chronograph movement in the CHR 27-525 PS, which set the record for the world's thinnest column-wheel-controlled split-seconds chronograph movement. The CHR 27-525 PS caliber trickled out in small production over the next five years, inside the fantastic and unexpectedly petite ref. 5959. 

It was joined in 2010 by the ref. 5951, which introduced the upgraded CHR 27-525 PS Q caliber, the thinnest movement ever produced by Patek Philippe to include both a split-seconds chronograph and perpetual calendar mechanism. The cushion-shaped ref. 5951 eventually faded away and in 2017 it was officially replaced by the 5372P, a reference that stood until this morning.

From a practical standpoint, all Patek had to do to create a goofy-footed 5372P is to rotate the watch's case, movement, and dial layout (just look at how the chronograph counters have switched from a three-six-nine format on the 5372P to three-nine-twelve on the 5373P) by 180 degrees and – abracadabra, you've got a brand-new watch.

That's despite the fact that the caliber CHR 27-525 PS Q looks just as good as ever, fully equipped with delicate côtes de Genève on the chamfered bridges, interior angles worthy of rubbernecking, and a pair of column wheels topped by polished caps – all beautifully done but somewhat predictable Patek Philippe choices of decoration.

But yes, the appearance of the 5373P-001 is totally distinct from all the 5372P examples I've held in my life. Whether in its blue sunburst or rose-gilt (aka, salmon) dial color option, the 5372P was a beautifully balanced but quintessentially conservative wristwatch. It felt like it could come from nearly any era of Patek Philippe. The 5373P-001 is the same beast but an entirely different animal, utilizing design codes that seem better suited for a video game or Formula One race track instead of Swiss tradition. Just look at the choice of strap – there's no shiny alligator scales to be seen, instead the 5373P is paired with a black calfskin strap featuring an embossed textile pattern with bright-red contrast stitching. (A large fold-over clasp made of platinum, however, remains.)

With that in mind, is it any surprise that Patek decided to kill off the old guard before revealing the new face of the franchise?

Hidden at the end of the 5373P-001's announcement is a quiet obituary for a pair of Pateks from the recent past: "From now on, this watch is the only remaining model with the caliber CHR 27-525 PS Q movement that was formerly available in the Ref. 5372P-001 and 5372P-010; both models have been retired from the collection."

The 5372 is dead; long live the 5373.

Patek Philippe 5373P-001 S Split-Seconds Monopusher Chronograph with perpetual calendar; price upon request. 38.3mm case diameter; 12.93mm case thickness. 950 platinum case. Delivered with solid platinum back and interchangeable sapphire-crystal display back. Water-resistant to 30 meters. Caliber CHR 27-525 PS Q, a manual wind mechanical movement, featuring split-seconds chronograph with column wheel, chronograph and split-seconds hand, 60-minute counter, and subsidiary seconds. Perpetual calendar with day, month, leap-year cycle and day/night indication in apertures, analog date, and moon phase. Power reserve is between a minimum of 38 hours and a maximum of 48 hours (with the chronograph uncoupled). Gyromax balance wheel, Breguet balance spring, 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour (3 Hz). Pusher in the crown at nine o'clock starts, stops, and resets the chronograph. Pusher at eight o'clock starts and stops the split-seconds hand. Delivered with a correction stylus in ebony and 18k white gold and on a black calfskin strap with red stitching and platinum fold-over clasp.