Artists have long recognized that color does more than stir subconscious associations aesthetically; it also resonates emotionally, evoking feelings through its similarity or the shimmering light it casts into our eyes. At Patek Philippe, the painter’s palette similarly inspires and enlightens the design of their timepieces.

“Green, how I desire you,
green. Wind of greenness,
branches.
The ship out at sea,
The horse in the mountains.”

“Romance Sonámbulo”

by Federico García Lorca

Green Mystique: Linking Mona Lisa and Patek Philippe

As you sit back to admire the new Patek Philippe annual calendar moon phase watch, Ref. 5205R, you’ll be captivated by the intriguing and subtle shifts in the olive green hue of its dial. You might find yourself puzzled as to why the dial appears black from certain angles, yet sparkles like an uncut emerald from others. This might prompt you to ponder a thought-provoking question: What color is the Mona Lisa’s dress?

While the Mona Lisa might be the most famous painting in the world, its colors are not vivid in people’s memories. Indeed, the Mona Lisa is beautiful and undoubtedly mysterious, her smile enchanting, yet the colors of the painting are not striking.

In fact, since its creation over 500 years ago, the Mona Lisa has never undergone a thorough cleaning. Over the centuries, countless candles have burnt out before her, and numerous cigars have been smoked, leading to a thick layer of discolored varnish covering the painting, obscuring its true colors. If this brown varnish were removed and the painting were cleaned and placed in bright light, you would discover that the color of her dress closely matches the olive green dial of the Patek Philippe: a deep green with hints of vibrant emerald; dark, yet not without a mysterious and understated allure; green, but not garishly so. The Mona Lisa is a masterfully understated masterpiece, much like the Ref. 5205R watch.

The Mona Lisa, whose real name was Lisa Gherardini, was the wife of a Florentine silk merchant. Her dress is rendered in what can be called “Patek Philippe green,” because during the Renaissance, green was a symbol of success. At that time, kings, princes, and popes would wear red, burgundy, and purple. Silk merchants, bankers, gold traders, and luxury goods importers often wore green.

In Jan van Eyck’s famous 1434 painting, “The Arnolfini Wedding”, the bride of Flemish textile merchant Giovanni Arnolfini wears a lavish chrome green gown lined with the fur of 2,000 squirrels, truly dressed in fabulous wealth. Furthermore, green during the Renaissance also represented prosperity, commercial skill, and business wealth.

Evolving Greens: From Renaissance to Gauguin

However, such symbolism was confined to the Renaissance. Elsewhere and in different eras, the significance of green has undergone changes, weaving through the varied tapestry of human emotions. Green might just be the most diverse color on Earth, not merely in terms of chlorophyll-filled plants but in its myriad shades and tones. After all, even oceans appear green from certain perspectives.

Paul Gauguin, during a low point in his artistic career, ventured to Panama to work on the canal. On his return to France, he briefly stayed in Martinique in the Caribbean, where he created a series of captivating tropical landscapes depicting jungles stretching into the sea.

I once stood before the most magnificent of these paintings, trying to count how many shades of green Gauguin used in the canopies. After reaching thirty, I gave up—there were simply too many!

This is the allure of green: elusive and constantly shifting in form and hue, possessing a rare ability to transform mysteriously before our eyes. Red will always be red, yellow will always be yellow, but green has a quiet way of infiltrating the territory of other colors, turning into blue, blending into brown, or fading into black.

If you observe a peacock from one angle, it appears blue. Move to another side, and it turns green. The same is true for Patek Philippe’s olive green annual calendar moon phase watch, Ref. 5205R-011. Though it is monochromatic, it reveals a spectrum of colors.

Gauguin once received a self-portrait from his artistic soulmate, Vincent Van Gogh. In the painting, Van Gogh depicted himself with a haircut resembling that of a Japanese monk, against a strikingly bright peacock green background that matched the color of his eyes. Van Gogh also hoped this would draw Buddhist spirits to keep him company.

Green: A Color Woven Through Time

Green boasts a profound historical significance. The ancient Egyptians were among the first to master the use of green. In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the intact tomb of Tutankhamun. Among the burial treasures was a pigment box containing green pigment, intended for the young king’s journey to the afterlife. In Egyptian cosmology, green symbolized regeneration and rebirth. The hieroglyph for “green” depicted a sprouting papyrus reed, signifying fertility and life.

Egyptians created green pigment by crushing beautiful malachite into a fine powder, then applying it around the eyes to ward off evil. Within Tutankhamun’s tomb, researchers also found a pectoral ornament centered with a scarab, carved from an unidentified yellow-green stone. Scarab decorations were a common element in ancient Egyptian jewelry, shimmering with a brilliance akin to the sunburst dials of Patek Philippe watches. However, Tutankhamun’s scarab was made from a mysterious material. Only recently did archaeologists discover that it was carved from Libyan Desert Glass, a rare substance formed by a meteorite that struck the Sahara Desert, making it a precious and celestial material.

In your encounter with green, you unwittingly step into the realm of the gods.

Nazanin Lankarani delves beyond the lush palettes of painters to explore how Patek Philippe’s timepiece collection cleverly utilizes green to achieve various effects. Over the past few decades, green dials have made only occasional appearances, though their presence has been on the rise in recent years.

A Touch of Green: Tracing Patek Philippe’s Verdant Journey

In the 1970s, malachite green dials brought a touch of Bohemian flair to the fashion-forward Patek Philippe aficionados. Some of Patek Philippe’s precious desk clocks were occasionally adorned with jade or jadeite. Despite this, green has rarely been favored. As a revered Swiss watchmaker, Patek Philippe has traditionally adhered to the timeless principles of preferring the tranquility of silver-white and the elegance of stainless steel grey over the passion of fire engine red or the fantasy of Verona green.

Defining the exact date when green first appeared in the Patek Philippe palette is challenging outside of stone dials. In 2004, the Aquanaut Luce series Ref. 5067A-013 debuted in a bold khaki, heralding the dawn of green’s application to Patek Philippe’s dials and composite material straps. This was a conservative experiment in green for women’s models. It took another 15 years for the men’s collection to embrace green with the Aquanaut simple time display Ref. 5168G-010, marking a new chapter of color for men’s watches. Shortly after, the sporty chronograph model Ref. 5968G-010 also made its debut.

Three models use khaki-colored sports watches: the Aquanaut Series REF. 5168G-010, the Aquanaut Luce Series REF.5267/200A-011,  and the Aquanaut Series Flyback Chronograph Annual Calendar Watch REF. 5968G-010.

Verdant Visions: Patek Philippe’s Dynamic Green Palette

Today, Patek Philippe does not confine itself to a single iconic shade like Ferrari red or Tiffany Blue®. Instead, it embraces a rich spectrum of greens. The 2022 lineup includes four new green-dialed watches, adding fresh flair and personality to familiar models. Each specific model highlights a distinct shade of green to enhance its style, such as the REF. 5205R-011 Annual Calendar Moon Phase watch, which features an olive green sunburst black gradient dial paired with a rose gold case, radiating irresistible charm. Similarly, the new Twenty~4 series ladies’ watch REF. 4910/I20OA-011 also features an olive green sunburst dial and a stainless steel “manchette” bracelet. The straps add a finishing touch to the overall design: for instance, the REF. 5205R-011 Annual Calendar Moon Phase watch boasts a hand-aged bicolor olive green alligator leather strap.

In the regular series,  Patek Philippe uses various shades of green to create different effects. For example, the World Time Flyback Chronograph REF. 5930P-001 has a bright green dial; the Perpetual Calendar Chronograph REF. 5270P-014 draws inspiration from vintage cars, with a black lacquered gradient dial using classic British racing green; the Ladies’ World Time Watch REF. 7130R-014 dial is olive green, the Annual Calendar Moon Phase Watch REF. 5205R-011 features an olive green sunburst black gradient dial. Also equipped with an olive green sunburst dial is the Flyback Chronograph Annual Calendar Watch REF-5905/1A-001.

The ladies’ World Time watch REF. 7130R-014 opts for a clean olive green, complemented by intricate hand-carved details and an old basket weave pattern, with a diamond-set bezel that enhances its understated elegance. The REF. 5270P-014 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph goes even further off the beaten path, with a lacquered dial and a platinum case. Some might see it as a nod to conservative classic style, but the bold green embellishments immediately dispel that notion, much like the shiny black alligator leather strap with striking green hand-stitched seams, making a bold statement.

Olive green is also found in the elegant Twenty-4 ladies’ watch series, such as the Twenty-4 Series Automatic Mechanical Watch REF. 7300/1200A-011,  and the simple time display model Twenty-4 Series REF. 4910/1200A-011. 

It’s clear that this year’s collection showcases the diverse charm of green dials, enhancing the style of the timepieces. Whether featuring complex functionalities or simple time displays, subtle color variations and the interplay of changing light create a beautiful and readable display, achieving a perfect balance of aesthetics and legibility.