Resembling the Calatrava's original reference, the ref. 96, with a slight facelift, the Calatrava ref. 5026 builds upon the Calatrava collection's history as one of Patek Philippe's best-known and best-looking dress watches. Merging Patek's esteemed design language with another iconic watchmaker, Breguet, the ref. 5026 blends the Calatrava's clean aesthetic and design with Breguet's eponymous Arabic numeral font for its applied markers to create an utterly stunning dial. However, as a Millenium edition variant that was launched specifically in 2000 and limited to just 130 pieces, this example’s dial features painted Roman numerals at the quarter hours and stick indices throughout the rest of the dial. Powered by the automatic micro-rotor movement cal. 240 PP which debuted in 1977, the ref. 5026 features an eccentric seconds subdial and a svelte 33.5mm case that have combined to become emblematic of the ref. 5026's design. Launched in 1997 and discontinued in 2002, this short-lived reference blurred the lines between two of watchmaking's most iconic brands as Patek Philippe created a genuinely fashionable timepiece that still exists at the forefront of watchmaking fashion to this day.

Offered as a rarity within what is already a rare reference to celebrate the second millennium, the quartet of Millenium Edition ref. 5026's represent a wonderfully unique variation of one of the Calatrava's most under-the-radar offerings from the modern era.