Patek Philippe Calatrava Weekly Calendar Ref. 5212A-012: A Special Anniversary Reference For Jeweller KUTTER 1825

I find it difficult to imagine the year 1925, yet picturing 1825 feels almost vertiginous. It is not merely a leap back beyond two world wars, but into another era entirely. This was a time before the modern German nation existed; the German Empire would not be founded until 1871. 1825 was a time of famous figures we know only from history books: Napoleon had just died on St Helena; Ludwig van Beethoven was still alive. In the USA, John Quincy Adams was elected the sixth president in 1825. The United States was also still quite small at that time and remained divided. In fact, it was half the size it is today: states such as Texas, Florida and California were not added until 1845 and 1850.

Even Patek Philippe, which is also the subject of this article, was only founded 14 years later by two Polish aristocrats, living in exile in Geneva. In general, news from this period mainly concerned royal houses, so it is no surprise that the company’s founder, Friedrich Baader, was court watchmaker to the King of Baden-Württemberg. Ernst Kutter was his son-in-law, and took over the jeweller in 1856.

Its very own company museum

The long history of KUTTER 1825 can be experienced in the newly and lovingly furnished company museum in the basement of the Patek Philippe store operated by KUTTER 1825 on Königstraße in Stuttgart. There, a long-serving watchmaker guides visitors through a collection of rare pocket watches. Customers can visit the museum on request. Although Ernst Kutter, after whom the company is named, was not born until 1824, he later took over his father-in-law’s business. He learned his craft in Reutlingen from the legendary chronometer maker Matthäus Hipp as well as from renowned watchmakers in Germany, France and England. Around 1850, Ernst Kutter finally met the Stuttgart court watchmaker Friedrich Baader, who hired him. He married Baader’s daughter, and six years later, Baader handed over his business, which he had founded in 1825. This marked the beginning of a unique German watchmaking career: Kutter built precision pendulum clocks, so-called perron clocks (triangular-shaped station clocks that could be easily seen from several sides), as well as chronometers and marine chronometers, demonstrating such skill that, in addition to the early railway companies and authorities, researchers, the navy and the nobility also took notice of his craftsmanship.

The polar explorer and later Nobel Peace Prize winner Fridtjof Nansen, who was the first person to cross Greenland, used a chronometer built by Ernst Kutter. He later described it as a ‘valuable and reliable companion’. Amongst the illustrious clientele of KUTTER 1825 were Prince von Bismarck, Count Zeppelin, Emperor Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, and, of course, Wilhelm II, King of Württemberg, who resided close to his shop on Königstraße.

Long since appointed court watchmaker, Ernst Kutter practised his craft with a dedication that earned him the respect of colleagues beyond the country’s borders. Even the British Navy and the Greenwich Observatory are said to have owned chronometers from KUTTER 1825. The KUTTER 1825 era came to an end in 1927, when watchmaker Fritz Möhrle took over the business. The Möhrle family, who took over KUTTER 1825 almost 100 years after the company was founded, can now look back on 100 years as a family business. Fritz Möhrle’s grandchildren, Jochen Möhrle and Monika Kaden, are now the third generation to run the business.

The Möhrle family expanded KUTTER 1825 into one of the largest family-owned jewellers in southern Germany. Industry experts say that when talking about the top five jewellers in Germany, KUTTER 1825 is among them. Fifteen years ago, the former small courtyard jeweller’s shop was expanded to 400 square metres a few metres further up Königstraße and the Rolex brand was added to its portfolio. Ten years ago, a glass watchmaker’s studio was created, emphasising the importance of good customer service across several generations. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Jochen Möhrle and his sister Monika Kaden are continuing to invest: in 2020, they opened the first Breitling boutique in southern Germany using a fresh concept.

The first accolade came in 2023: a dedicated retail store for Patek Philippe watches from Geneva. At the same time, the company embarked on the first rebranding of its own jewellery brand, ‘ameo’. This was followed in 2024 by the renovation of the headquarters, and 2025 was crowned not only by celebrations marking the company’s anniversary, but also by the opening of a Chopard boutique – another family business with its roots in Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg.

Preparing the fourth generation

In the lobby of the two-storey Patek store, Swisswatches meets Alexander Kaden and Felix Möhrle, who will one day form the fourth generation to run KUTTER 1825. Felix Möhrle is the son of Jochen Möhrle, whose great-great-grandfather took over KUTTER 1825 at the end of the 1920s. Alexander Kaden is the son of Monika Kaden. Both are visibly proud of their ancestors’ achievements. Alexander Kaden says, “In our new Ernst Kutter Museum, you can find incredibly beautiful vintage pocket watches and wristwatches from earlier years. We are particularly proud of a Patek Philippe pocket watch that was hidden in a safe for years and is now on display in our ‘treasure chest display case’, alongside the most valuable watches in our museum.” Felix Möhrle also recommends his own museum to his customers: “The museum is the perfect place to show new customers the long-standing shared tradition of Patek Philippe and our company.”

75 years of selling Patek Philippe watches

KUTTER 1825 has been an official Patek concessionaire since 1950, and two years ago, construction began on the new Patek partnership store. Alexander Kaden: “The new store is approximately 400 m² in size and spans two floors – a combination of the Patek Philippe concept and our own store design by the architectural firm Karolina Curic Architekten. KUTTER 1825 won several awards for the interior design, including the German Design Award and the Inhorgenta Award. Felix Möhrle: “The concept exudes a casual feel-good atmosphere, and the bar on the upper level alone is a highlight in itself.” It is perfect not only for daytime and evening events, but also for our own conversation taking place over a coffee, which the future bosses prepared for us themselves.

Patek Philippe watches and jewellery from KUTTER 1825: All in one place

In 2023, the ‘KUTTER 1825 Atelier’ shop officially opened. The term ‘atelier’ is used for good reason, as Alexander Kaden explains: “We saw a unique connection between Patek Philippe, with its elaborate watchmaking, and our goldsmith’s atelier. We, too, have the entire value chain of a piece of jewellery in our KUTTER 1825 goldsmith’s atelier, even with our own gemstone setter. Our motto is ‘Unique. For you.’” Thanks to the glass-walled goldsmith’s studio, customers can watch the creation process for themselves. It is also the first store in the world to combine Patek Philippe watches with a jeweller’s own jewellery brand. Felix Möhrle believes that it is ‘a perfect synergy of craftsmanship under one roof.’

Another premiere: A limited edition of 20 watches to mark the anniversary

To mark the 200th anniversary of KUTTER 1825 and the 75th anniversary of its collaboration with the Geneva-based watch manufacture, the luxury jeweller also had the unique opportunity to launch a special edition of the Calatrava Weekly Calendar. Only 20 watches of the new Calatrava Weekly Calendar with its own reference number 5212A-012 will be available. Alexander Kaden and Felix Möhrle are bursting with pride and rightly consider this a great honour. But they also see it as a continuation of an earlier tradition. Alexander Kaden: “In the past, it was normal for the name of the jeweller to appear on the dials rather than that of the manufacturer, as can be seen in our Ernst Kutter Museum.”

“This has never happened before at KUTTER 1825,” adds Felix Möhrle proudly, adding: “But since we have never done anything like this in the last 75 years, we are naturally all the happier that we were able to create an anniversary watch with Patek Philippe.” Alexander Kaden adds: “And this at a time when anniversary watches are no longer commonplace for the manufacture and are reserved for special moments – in this case, the 75-year collaboration with Patek Philippe and our 200th company anniversary in the same year were a perfect match.”

The Calatrava Weekly Calendar is a special watch. The mechanism was first introduced by Patek Philippe in 2019. Swisswatches asked the two why this model was chosen. Alexander Kaden explains: “We wanted a watch that was unique to Patek Philippe: a complication with a unique function, and a practical model that could be worn every day.” Based on this input, Patek ultimately came up with the idea of the Reference 5212A from the Calatrava series. The fact that they were able to immortalise the colour of their own jewellery brand, ameo, in the dial and strap as a tribute to the joint store of both brands makes them both very happy. What is the name of the colour? Felix Möhrle adds: “The dial doesn’t have a colour name, but we call it ice blue.”

A special Patek Philippe reference for KUTTER 1825

The first Patek reference from KUTTER 1825, of which only 20 pieces will be produced, is called the Calatrava Weekly Calendar Ref. 5212A-012. At first glance, it is already very distinctive thanks to its light blue dial and five hands radiating from the centre. As with the model with the opal silver-coloured dial, the hours and minutes are indicated by dauphine hands made of blackened white gold. These match perfectly with the applied baton indices made with the same material.

A slender hand tracks the passing seconds. The day of the week is indicated by a circular scale in the centre of the dial, marked by a hammer-shaped hand with a red tip. A second hand of the same design allows the calendar week and the corresponding month to be read simultaneously on two concentric scales on the edge of the dial. A date window at 3 o’clock completes these calendar indications.

A completely new function among calendar watches

Six years ago, Patek Philippe presented the Calatrava Weekly Calendar Reference 5212A-001 at Baselworld. It was not just another new complicated wristwatch in a coveted steel case, but rather a completely new function for calendar watches. In addition to the day of the week and date, the model also displays the calendar week, which is particularly practical for professionals who need to divide their year into calendar weeks. Patek developed a completely new automatic base calibre for the Calatrava Weekly Calendar Reference 5212A-001.

The long history of Patek calendar watches

From simple date windows to extremely complex secular perpetual calendars programmed to run until the 28th century, Patek Philippe has developed a wide range of calendar functions to date. The perpetual calendar has long been considered a speciality of the company – and the patented annual calendar, launched in 1996, has changed the world of wristwatches with its full calendar that needs only be corrected once a year, on 1 March: many manufactures recognised the potential of this particularly practical complication and now build movements with the same function. Even in the age of smartphones, a weekly calendar that shows the calendar week at a glance remains a useful and practical additional function.

The most important differences between the models

The most important difference between the two references: the typography of the series model, created specially for this watch, is based on the handwriting of one of the manufacture’s designers. It features unique letters and numerals that differ in detail. In the KUTTER 1825 special edition, they have been carefully printed in black. The new typography also gives the ice-blue dial a special touch.

The most important details of the anniversary watch

Incidentally, the 20 watches are not numbered, but a discreet reference can be found printed on the sapphire crystal caseback: ‘Patek Philippe & KUTTER 1825’ is inscribed alongside ‘75 years of collaboration’. As is otherwise only the case with grand complications from Patek Philippe, collectors receive a typical A4 leather folder with information, a certificate and a picture of the watch upon purchase.

Timeless elegance: Limited edition in steel

With a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 11.18 mm, this Calatrava remains absolutely timeless. The case of the series watch is made of stainless steel; a rarity at Patek Philippe. Anyone familiar with Patek Philippe’s reference numbers and letters will immediately recognise that the KUTTER 1825 watch also bears the coveted letter A, which stands for acier; French for steel. The understated aesthetics of this watch are inspired by reference 2512, a unique piece from 1955 in the Patek Philippe Museum collection. This relationship is emphasised by the reference number of the Calatrava Weekly Calendar, which was introduced in 2019. It has the same digits in a different order. The vintage look is enhanced by a sapphire crystal in a box design, which creates a slightly raised profile.

The movement: A semi-integrated weekly calendar

In 2019, Patek Philippe developed a completely new, semi-integrated mechanism to display the day of the week and the calendar week number. It contains 92 additional components and is 1.52 mm thick. Thanks to a plate specially developed and manufactured for this mechanism, the movement remains very flat. A 7-pointed star placed on the hour wheel in the centre of the movement controls the day of the week display. For the experts: a second 7-pointed star with an extended Sunday point drives the 53-tooth week wheel via a rocker. The calendar displays change semi-instantaneously in slightly graduated increments to avoid energy consumption peaks. The weekday and calendar week displays are corrected using two pushers at 8 and 10 o’clock on the side of the case. The date is corrected using the crown in the half-pulled position. Thanks to well-designed safety systems, the user can make these corrections at any time of the day or night.

A further development of the famous calibre 324 base movement

The weekly calendar mechanism is not the only special feature of the Ref. 5212. Back in 2019, the reference was given a completely new movement based on the famous automatic calibre 324. The movement incorporated numerous innovations and optimisations to improve its performance and reliability.

Every five to six years, the year has 53 weeks

In accordance with the international standard ISO 8601, Patek Philippe has naturally chosen Monday as the first day of the week (not Sunday, as is customary in some countries). The first week of the year is the week that includes 4 January. The scale with 53 divisions also takes into account years with an extra week. This occurs every five to six years, with the next instances being in 2026 and 2032.

Huge demand

When you’re having a coffee with your two neighbours and friendly colleagues Felix Möhrle and Alexander Kaden at the in-house bar on the first floor, it’s easy to lose track of time and space. Now it’s time to celebrate. Demand for the watches has been off the charts, and Alexander Kaden and Jochen Möhrle have politely asked that no further enquiries be made. Of course, they would have liked to have had a few more watches. The few watches produced will hardly be enough for their many regular customers. But for now, they are grateful for the long partnership between the two family businesses, Patek Philippe and KUTTER 1825.

Alexander Kaden smiles when asked about the fact that KUTTER 1825, founded in 1825, is older than Patek Philippe: “It’s not about going further, faster or bigger, but rather about family values. The philosophies of both companies are a perfect match. We both stand for enjoyment of the product, exclusivity and approachability.”

With their freshly brewed espresso and open insights, the fourth generation at KUTTER 1825 is warm and approachable. The limited edition Calatrava, whose blue tone, incidentally, does not appear icy but pleasantly light and casual, is definitely a crowning achievement for the company. Alexander Kaden is well aware of this, of course, and emphasises: “Above all, we owe a debt of gratitude to our parents, who have run KUTTER 1825 for the last 35 years.” Felix Möhrle can only agree. “You don’t just get your own limited edition of 20 from Patek overnight. As the younger generation, we are also proud to be joining such a great company.” A watch of this calibre, combined with the wonderful Patek Philippe shop and the company’s own museum – finding another such jeweller would be no small feat.

kutter1825.de | patek.com

Photos: Patrick Möckesch for Swisswatches