====== Patek Philippe Calatrava 96 ======

{{wst>image_cr|Patek Philippe|Calatrava 96|One the earliest versions of the Ref. 96,\\ Patek Philippe Museum|300px}}

The **Calatrava, Ref. 96** is the original men's dress watch from [[Patek Philippe]] that spawned [[Patek Philippe Calatrava|the modern Calatrava family]].

Patek Philippe introduced the Ref. 96 in [[1932]]. The design, created by the Briton David Penney, was meant to evoke [[Bauhaus]] simplicity: The round shape reflected the circular nature of the gears, the movement of the hands, and of time itself. The watch was nicknamed "Calatrava" after the cruciform symbol used by Patek Philippe, and this name underscored the importance of the model to the company.

The original Calatrava was a strikingly modern design for the time: Rather than soldered lugs, it featured integrated tapered lugs that flowed out from the case sides and were core to the three-part case itself. The 30.5 mm case consisted of a snap-on back and bezel with crystal connecting to a central case that included the lugs and a hole for the two-piece winding stem and crown. Despite this, the watch is just 9 mm thick. The lugs are slightly scrolled, dropping toward the wrist so it wears extremely thin and light. The lugs are [[drilled]] as well.

Various dials were fitted, but all feature clean design and [[small seconds]] at 6 00. Many [[sector dial]]s were produced, along with [[Breguet]] numerals or applied markers. A variety of hands were used, from daggers to leaves to pencils. The crown is large and knurled but usually lacks a Patek Philippe sign.

Ref. 96 lasted many years in production and spawned many descendants, both inside and outside the company. Patek Philippe generally reserves the "96" designation for modern interpretations of this design, including [[Patek Philippe Calatrava 3796|Ref. 3796]] from the 1980's, [[Patek Philippe Calatrava 4896|Ref. 4896]] for ladies, and [[Patek Philippe Calatrava 5196|Ref. 5196]] and [[Patek Philippe Calatrava 5296|Ref. 5296]] of today.

<WRAP ud ud_mod>
**Reference:**
  * 96 [[yellow gold]], [[white gold]], [[stainless steel]]

**Movement: **
  * [[Manual winding]] movement [[PP 12-400|Cal. 12-400]]
  * 18 [[jewels]]

**Case:**
  * [[Yellow gold]] / [[white gold]] / [[stainless steel]]
  * Ø 30.5 mm, H 9 mm

**Functions:**
  * Hours, minutes
  * [[Small seconds]]

**Dial:**
  * White

**Bracelet: **
  * Crocodile leather strap
</WRAP>

{{tag>Watch_models Patek_Philippe_models Patek_Philippe_Calatrava_models Patek_Philippe_references}}