When you think of covetable vintage Patek Philippe, there are a few keywords that come to mind with two of the biggest being: stainless steel and Breguet numerals. While prices of examples that have these traits can go to the hundreds of thousands, let me show you an affordable alternative, the Girard Perregaux Triple Calendar 5638.
Girard Perregaux was an extremely small manufacture that produced watches in very low quantities back in the day. Despite this, they were known for their incredibly high-quality pieces and were considered a ‘high-end’ brand. The Triple Calendar Ref. 5638 you see today is one of the nicest pieces that came out of the brand and it has so many details going for it.
Sized in a 34mm stainless steel case, despite its smaller diameter, it has long elegant lugs that really hug the wrist well and wears much larger as a result. The frosted white dial has a beautiful warm tone and is accentuated by applied Breguet numerals, blued steel feuille hands, and a blue outer calendar track. Two apertures at 12 o’clock completes the look displaying the day and the month. This is one of the most elegant and beautiful wristwatches I have come across with proportionality and details at the core of its design language.
To recap, what you get is a very rare watch made in low quantities, a complicated triple calendar, manual winding in-house GP 39 212 movement housed in a stainless steel case with a dial featuring Breguet numerals and blued steel hands. The details of this watch really set it apart and the cherry on top is the fact that it comes in an extremely well-preserved state.
