Horological Wonders: Patek Philippe
Style demands bold choices. Bold choices demand stepping outside the confines of acceptability. The world’s finest watch houses instruct their master craftsmen to do this on a regular basis.
Sometimes in the service of the technology itself, or the materials used, but always in the name of creativity and free expression. We’ve collected some of our favourite weird and wonderful pieces so we can really appreciate the breadth of what they’ve achieved.
Could You Please Repeat That?
The Patek Philippe 5304/301R-001 Minute Repeater is practically begging you to take a look into the incredible work they’ve put into it. Other horological fans agree.
This is a watch that asks you to study its genius. Even the perpetual calendar mechanism of the R 27 PS QR LU calibre is on show beneath a transparent sapphire dial, with sapphire disks carrying the calendar indications and apertures displaying the day, month and leap year. They are that determined to show you everything.
The self-winding calibre also drives the moon-phase display, small seconds and minute repeater. Set it chiming and two gongs sound the hours, quarter-hours and minutes on demand. At 12:59, that adds up to 32 strikes. The movement measures just 28mm across, beats at 3Hz and has a 38-to-48-hour power reserve.
The 43mm rose-gold case has white-gold inlays along its flanks, engraved with a “leaf” pattern that echoes the design on the rose-gold mini-rotor. Foliage invades the piece subtly. The hands themselves are white-gold skeletonised leaf shapes, finished with black varnish so they contrast with the mechanics laid bare behind them.
The bezel and lugs are set with 58 baguette-cut diamonds totalling 5.53ct. Something you don’t see often is an equally loved clasp on the shiny black alligator-leather strap. The fold-over clasp is set with 22 more diamonds, adding another 1.02ct to the total.
Around the circumference of the dial is the retrograde date, indicated by a hand tipped with a red half-moon. There’s a little history in that flourish: Patek Philippe developed its retrograde date mechanism in 1986 and has refined it since. At the end of the month, the spring-driven hand makes a quick return to the first.