Famed for their luxurious take on horology and all of its facets, Patek Philippe seldom constructs their cases from metals that are not precious, like gold or platinum. As such, stainless steel examples of Patek Philippe’s timepieces are inherently rare, sought-after, and unusual. Offered here, we have one of those very timepieces, the Calatrava ref. 3509 made from stainless steel. Contrasting the Calatrava’s elegant dress watch persona, the ref. 3509 has become legendary due to its position as one of the very few stainless steel vintage Patek Philippe references. Combined with its stainless steel construction, the ref. 3509 is also sought-after due to screw-down caseback, which was an impressive departure from Patek’s more common snap-on casebacks. Featuring a manual-wind movement and a simple silver dial with applied indices and sword-shaped hands, the ref. 3509 seems right at home in today’s horological landscape, with its beautiful classically styled dial serving as a reminder of the time from which it has come.

An important addition to Patek Philippe's arsenal since it aided their expansion into steel watches, the ref. 3509's importance cannot be overstated since it paved the way for watches like the Nautilus, Aquanaut and so many other great steel watches from Patek.