Patek Philippe arrived at Watches & Wonders Geneva this year with 20 new references, including four limited Nautilus anniversary editions. As if this was not impressive enough, the esteemed Geneva-based power house released an awe-inspiring display of artisanal skills in their annual Rare Handcrafts exhibition. Within the confines of this review article, it is not possible to cover everything shown, so here is my subjective look at the array of what was offered.
The key anniversary was the Nautilus turning 50. If urban legends are to be believed, the watch was the result of Gerald Genta overhearing a conversation and then sketching the design on a napkin in Basel in 1976. The Nautilus is now one of the most sought-after watches on the planet. To celebrate this milestone anniversary, four new references were released. The most notable is Ref. 5610/1P-001, which returns the collection to the 38mm diameter format from the 1980s, with its purest hours-and-minutes display. Inside is the ultra-thin calibre 240, powered by a 22-kt gold mini-rotor engraved with the anniversary inscription “50 1976–2026.”
L-R: Nautilus releases to celebrate its half century: Ref. 5610/1P-001, the 5810/1G-001, Ref. 5810G-001, and Ref. 958G-001 desk clock.
Joining the celebrations, two 41mm “Jumbo” Nautilus anniversary references in white gold, Ref. 5810/1G-001 – limited to 2,000 pieces with an integrated bracelet – and ref. 5810G-001 – 1,000 only. Perhaps most unexpected is Ref. 958G-001, a 50.7mm white gold Nautilus desk clock (100 units), powered by a hand-wound movement displaying hours, minutes, date, day of the week, small seconds and an eight-day power reserve.
The complex display for Patek Philippe Celestial Ref. 6105G, which shows sunrise and sunset times along with the sky chart of Geneva’s night sky.
The headline Grand Complication was the Celestial Ref. 6105G, as, for the first time in a Patek Philippe wristwatch, sunrise and sunset times were shown alongside the familiar rotating sky chart of Geneva’s night sky. The modern aesthetics with a lug-less 47mm white gold case and rubber strap are complemented by the dial, a multi-layered construction of independently rotating discs tracking stellar movement, lunar phase and orbit, and now, the arc of daylight itself. The watch carries an impressive six patents, including the self-winding movement system that simultaneously adjusts both the time and the solar indications whenever the clocks change between summer and winter.
L-R: the new automaton wristwatch Ref. 5249R-001 “The Crow and the Fox” and the original 1958 pocket watch by Louis Cottier.
Artisanal crafts are also now part of the regular collection. Patek Philippe debuted an automaton wristwatch, the Ref. 5249R-001 “The Crow and the Fox”, a reinterpretation of a 1958 pocket watch by Louis Cottier (now at the Patek Philippe Museum). Press the pusher at two o’clock and the scene comes alive, the fox indicates the hours using its paw, while the crow reveals the minutes as a wedge of cheese drops from its beak along a retrograde scale. Just the dial itself demands approximately 150 hours of artisanal work per piece.
The Rare Handcrafts exhibition, running at Patek’s Rue du Rhône salon from 18 April through 9 May, emphasises the Maison’s commitment to horological related crafts. The 2026 showcase features 65 unique creations spanning pocket watches, wristwatches, table clocks and dome clocks, demonstrating métiers d’art on an extensive scale including enamelling, guilloché, gem-setting and wood micro-marquetry, with live artisan demonstrations. Among the highlights, there was a distinctive Hispanic theme “Flamenco” pocket watch (Ref. 992/198J), combining cloisonné and plique-à-jour enamel, miniature painting and hand engraving into a single object of decorative ambition.
L-R: Patek Philippe Ref. 992/198J “Flamenco” pocket watch and Calatrava Ref. 5177R-001 “La Catrina” wristwatch.
The second Latin-inspired piece was the limited series of 10 Calatrava Ref. 5177R-001 “La Catrina” wristwatches, with dials created through a combination of cloisonné and flinqué enamel to celebrate Mexico’s “Day of the Dead”. Skull designs on watches have a long history, certainly from a memento mori aspect, but it is difficult to recall the pictorial element being so beautifully rendered.
Patek Philippe in 2026 is showing a manufacture with the capacity to celebrate its icons and watchmaking prowess without fanfare and expanding its technical abilities without theatrics.
For more information and details, visit PATEK.COM
Author: Andrew Hildreth
Explore Watches & Wonders 2026 in our Official Review of the Fair and discover watches as pieces of art in Who Cares About The Time?
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