iW Magazine Winter 2019 | Page 56

Ladies JUST FOR HER By Nancy Olson PATEK PHILIPPE’S NEW TWENTY-4 IS ROUND AND AUTOMATI C Heralding the new Patek Philippe Twenty-4 Automatic ladies timepiece as “elegant, feminine and exceptional,” Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern explained that the new collection was five years and forty prototypes in the making. Indeed, the new Patek Philippe Twenty-4 Automatic, powered by an automatic movement, is an ultra-chic revamp of 1999’s revolutionary Patek Philippe Twenty-4. The new steel and rose gold variations of the watch, with its new 36mm round case in counterpoint to its rectangular forebears, all feature applied Arabic numerals, sweep seconds and a date window at 6 o’clock. Each also includes 160 Top Wesselton diamonds in two rows on the bezel. One particularly fetching rose gold version ups the sparkle factor with diamond- set lugs, bracelet and crown, for a total of 469 diamonds. The dial on that watch is particularly fetching with its silvery Shantung finish. Inside, the 324 S C self-winding movement, while not entirely new, offers reliable and accurate timekeeping and notable beauty, and it is a welcome addition to the formerly all-quartz Twenty-4. Its beveled-edge bridges, Geneva striping and exquisite polish—as well as the 21-karat gold central rotor engraved with the familiar Calatrava cross—are visible through the exhibition caseback. Prices: $26,083 (steel), $45,361 (rose gold), $56,702 (rose gold with diamond bracelet) 56 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | WINTER 2019