Patek Philippe Ref. 3567-1

Before the Nautilus made integrated bracelets part of the Patek Philippe catalog, the maison was already experimenting with watches that blurred the line between timepiece and jewellery.

This Ref. 3567/1 dates to circa 1972 and is made in 18k white gold. At only 26 mm wide it is discreet, yet the softly squared case and highly textured integrated bracelet give it much more presence than the dimensions suggest.

Then there is the dial. Its blue-grey surface is covered in a fine vertical texture that shifts from slate to icy blue depending on the light. Slim white-gold baton markers and matching hands are almost all that interrupt it. No date, no seconds, barely any text. Patek lets colour, material and texture do the work.

Inside sits Patek Philippe’s hand-wound calibre 175, an 18-jewel movement used in the first series of Ref. 3567. The movement features Patek’s Gyromax balance and is exactly the kind of slim mechanical construction needed for a watch that was originally advertised as “ultra-flat”.

Ref. 3567 first appeared in 1967, right as watch design was becoming bolder and more experimental. Different dial and bracelet combinations followed, but this white-gold version captures the period particularly well: cool metal, an almost electric textured dial and a bracelet with enough surface treatment to be jewellery in its own right.

A wonderfully seventies Patek, made before integrated-bracelet watches became the category they are today. White gold, calibre 175 and a blue-grey dial that looks different every time the light changes. Available at Reestraat 3, Amsterdam.