Patek Philippe Calatrava Watches

The dress watch is perhaps the hardest watch to master. It has to be simple, it has to be manual wind, it has to have no complications—small seconds at a push—and it has to be small, both in diameter, but more importantly, thickness. This leaves very little for a watchmaker to hide behind, only the quality of the watchmaking itself left to do the talking. How do the very best brands in the world do it?

Doppelchronograph, rattrapante, split-second—you’ve probably heard of one if not all of these terms, and maybe you even know that they all mean the same thing. But what exactly is a split-second chronograph, and how on Earth do they work?

It’s finally here! Another year has gone by and we’ve got Baselworld fever once again. The Swatch Group’s absence may have left a glaring hole in this year’s show, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still pleased, confused and outright surprised once again. This is part one of our two part special—keep an eye out for part two coming up soon.

Forty-two years is a long time. It’s long enough to go from enjoying a carefree childhood to having a serious need to make a will, and for those who’ve spent that time hoping Patek Philippe would fit a grand complication into the quirky Nautilus, the wait was a long one. But now the wait is over.