Patek Philippe

The Watches April 7, 2022

The Patek Philippe Launches Annual Calendar Travel Time, Adds a High-Speed Chronograph

Leading with a newly designed Travel Time watch that now includes an annual calendar, Patek Philippe at Watches and Wonders 2022 debuted twelve new watches, including three models designed with a feminine focus.

The new Patek Philippe new Ref. 5326G-001 Annual Calendar Travel Time.

But first, another debut

Perhaps to give the new Annual Calendar Travel Time its own spotlight, Patek Philippe waited until just after the Geneva show to launch a splashier technical innovation: the new 41mm platinum-cased Patek Philippe Ref. 5470P-001, a 1/10-of-a-second monopusher chronograph.

Patek Philippe Ref. 5470P-001, a 1/10-of-a-second monopusher chronograph.

To engineer its first high-frequency chronograph Patek Philippe started with its existing CH 29- 535 PS caliber from 2009. Watchmakers amped the frequency from 4 Hz to 5 Hz (36,000 vibrations per hour, or ten steps per second) and then equipped the movement with an additional 1/10th of a second chronograph mechanism.

As Patek Philippe explains, the designers provided the caliber CH 29-535 PS 1/10 with two independent and synchronized chronograph mechanisms, each of them driving a different central hand. The hand that performs a complete revolution per minute shows the stopped seconds in the traditional manner. The other hand (in red lacquered Silinvar) performs one revolution per twelve seconds.

We’ll have more details about the new Cal. 5470P in a future post. For details and a video, see the Patek Philippe website.

Travel time

The totally new Ref. 5326G-001 Annual Calendar Travel Time arrives in a new 41mm white gold Calatrava case with a terrific hobnailed case-side treatment meant to recall the hobnail bezels that have long characterized Patek Philippe’s traditional Calatrava collection.

The watch will also draw stares to its light-refracting textured charcoal gray dial that darkens to black toward its minute track. Vintage-styled applied numerals and white gold hour and minute hands are coated with an equally retro beige luminescence.

(This same dial, case, hand and marker layout is also found on another 2022 debut, the less complex Cal. 5226G, a three-hand 40mm white gold Calatrava with date–see below.)

The new Cal. 5226G, a three-hand 40mm white gold Calatrava with date, sports the same dial treatment as the new Annual Calendar Travel Time.

Patek Philippe’s watchmakers designed a new self-winding caliber (new 31-260 PS QA LU FUS 24H) for the new Annual Calendar Travel Time in which the Travel Time mechanism controls the Annual Calendar.

A view of Caliber 31-260 PS QA LU FUS 24H from the case back of the new Annual Calendar Travel Time.

The unusual setup, in which the watch’s date display is synchronized with local time, allows forwards and backwards date correction.

And to better retain the dressy Calatrava style, Patek Philippe resisted the need to install two pushers to control the two hour hands (a solid hand for local time and a skeletonized hand for home time). Instead, the wearer can correct the local time via the crown. Calendar indications can be adjusted via small case-side correctors located near their respective functions: day at 10, month at 2, date at 4 and moon phases at 8 o’clock.

For this debut, Patek Philippe also updated its legendary Annual Calendar, which the brand essentially invented for the wristwatch in 1996. And, Patek Philippe’s engineers shortened the Annual Calendar’s changeover time. Thanks to a new cam system, the changing dates and move to local time is five times faster (eighteen minutes) than the same actions in earlier annual calendars.

This change is among many that Patek Philippe has cited in eight patent applications for the new caliber.

Patek Philippe delivers its Ref. 5326G-001 Annual Calendar Travel Time with two interchangeable straps, one beige calfskin with nubuck texture. The second black calfskin strap has embossed textile finish and beige decorative stitching. Price: $76,882.

Additional highlights among the twelve 2022 Watches and Wonders debuts for Patek Philippe include:

Cal. 5320G-011 Perpetual Calendar, an eye-catching new version of the contemporary vintage Patek Philippe perpetual calendar in 40mm white gold with a stunning rose-gilt opaline dial. With its three-tiered lugs, this debut recalls a Patek Philippe model from 1945. Price: $94,624.

Cal. 5172G-010 Chronograph, a new version of the manually wound Manufacture chronograph in 40mm white gold, also features a rose-gilt opaline dial (above). You might recall this model from 2019 with a blue dial. $80,431.

Patek Philippe also added a trio of olive green-dialed models and one green lacquered watch during Watches and Wonders 2022.

The trio includes Ref. 4910/1200A-011 Twenty-4 manchette quartz watch in steel with a sunburst dial ($15,377 (above), Ref. 7130R-014 Ladies’ World Time watch in rose gold ($57,957) and a Ref. 5205R annual Calendar with moon phases ($55,592).

Ref. 5205R annual Calendar with moon phases.

For a new platinum Ref. 5270P-014 Chronograph with a perpetual calendar ($211,271), Patek Philippe applies a green lacquered dial with a black gradation (below).

The new platinum Ref. 5270P-014 Chronograph with a perpetual calendar.

We’ll have more reporting about the remaining Patek Philippe 2022 debuts in future posts. These debuts include several artisanal updates to the firm’s Worldtimer plus new gem set options for the platinum-cased Ref. 5374/300P Grand Complication with a minute repeater and a perpetual calendar and the Ref. 7121 Ladies’ Moon Phases watch.

Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts On Exhibit in Geneva and Paris

In Geneva next month Patek Philippe will present to the public nearly sixty new clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches that make up its Rare Handcrafts collection for 2022. The Exhibit will then move to a location in Paris in May.

The full collection, including fifteen dome table clocks, nine miniature dome table clocks, ten pocket watches and twenty-five wristwatches, will first be exhibited at Patek Philippe’s historic headquarters on Rue du Rhone starting April 6 until April 23.

The collection, which Patek Phillip expands annually, includes pieces made using a wide range of artisanal skills. These include grand feu cloisonné enamel, miniature painting on enamel (a genuine Genevan specialty), manual engraving, manual guilloching and paillonné enamel. Even rarely seen skills such as wood micro-marquetry and Longwy enameling, will also be on display.

In addition, visitors can also watch masters of their art demonstrating tradition-steeped techniques.

Among the topics of this year’s pieces are several objects directly related to Geneva.

The “Bol d’Or” Dome table clock in cloisonné and paillonné enamel shows a famous regatta on Lake Geneva.

One is the dome table clock 20118M Bol d’Or in cloisonné and paillonné enamel, created as a reminder of the seven trophies that the manufacture’s honorary president Philippe Stern won at the Lake of Geneva regatta.

Another piece, the pocket watch 995/130G-001 Swan, shows a Genevan bird in wood micro-marquetry.

The Swan Pocket watch with case back in wood marquetry and enameled dial with hand-engraved hands.

The Rare Handcrafts 2022 exhibition at the Patek Philippe Salons on Rue du Rhône 41 is open to the public every day except Sundays from April 6 to 23, 2022, from 11 am to 6 pm. Visitors are requested to preregister online at the patek.com website starting on March 28, 2022.

Front side of the Patek Philippe Swan pocket watch with case back in wood marquetry, showing enameled dial with hand-engraved hands.

Patek Philippe will also present the exhibit in Paris from May 14 to 22 in a gallery on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 85.

The Watches December 16, 2021

Patek Philippe Pumps Up Chime Volume

Patek Philippe underscores its reputation as the source for the finest minute repeaters with a new model, the Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater, an extra-loud chiming wristwatch that utilizes a new sound amplification system.

Patek Philippe will make fifteen 40mm platinum-cased Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater watches.

The Geneva watchmaker says its new watch delivers dulcet time-telling tones that can be heard up to 180 feet away from the wearer’s wrist.

Patek Philippe’s new system, dubbed ‘Fortissimo ff,” consists of a sound lever, or metallic ‘blade,’ that oscillates a sapphire crystal wafer located on the back of the watch. Patek Philippe’s Advanced Research arm has spent several years developing the Fortissimo ff and will place it into fifteen 40mm platinum-cased Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater watches.

The watchmaker says its new system, for which Patek Philippe registered three patents, essentially builds a novel pathway for the sound to reach the wearer’s ears. The hammers on the new model, built directly from the design of Patek Philippe’s famed caliber R 27 PS (from 1989), strike in a traditional manner on a titanium ring. Then the new ‘Fortissimo ff’ module takes over to amplify the tones.

The new design transmits the gong oscillations to the sapphire wafer, which, unlike a traditional repeater, is not connected to the case and vibrates on its own. This effectively amplifies the sound, sending it out through four openings at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock in the titanium ring. A dust filter protects the movement.

As noted, the resulting chimes can be heard up to 180 feet away from the watch, according to Patek Philippe. Traditional repeaters become difficult to hear approximately when listening thirty feet from the watch.

Platinum case and components

Since the sound waves created using the new ‘Fortissimo ff’ technology never touch the watch’s case, the case metal for the watch does not affect the sound.

However, Patek Philippe did make several metal changes to the movement design when compared to the slide-activated Ref. 5178 minute repeater, which served as the inspiration for the new Ref. 5750.

A mini-rotor in platinum replaces the original model found on the Cal. R27. With its greater material density, the platinum version delivers the same winding power but with a thinner design.

The watchmaker replaced the steel hammers found on the Ref. 5178 minute repeater with platinum hammers, which produce a softer strike. Furthermore, a mini-rotor in platinum replaces the original model’s gold rotor. With its greater material density, the platinum version delivers the same winding power but with a thinner design.

Contemporary dial

Patek Philippe tops its new watch with an openworked dial of contemporary design that differs considerably from the watchmaker’s generally classical minute repeater dials.

The watchmaker says spoked wheels of 1960s automobiles inspired the watch’s skeletonized dial. The primary dial is inset with a seconds subdial with a similar pattern. And in another break from Patek Philippe tradition, the seconds dial indicates seconds using a rotating disc rather than a traditional hand.

The watch is set with a shiny orange alligator strap with black seams and a platinum fold-over clasp. Patek Philippe will make fifteen platinum-cased Ref. 5750 “Advanced Research” minute repeaters. Price upon request.

For additional technical details and several excellent videos about the Patek Philippe Ref. 5750 Advanced Research Minute Repeater, click here.

Technical Chronology

Below we list the technical achievements of Patek Philippe Advanced Research division since its first results in 2005.

2005: Silinvar, a novel, patented material based on monocrystalline silicon. It was developed in collaboration with Rolex, the Swatch Group, and CSEM in Neuchâtel, and is suitable for applications in watchmaking. Also in 2005: First escape wheel in Silinvar. This new part improves dependability because it requires no lubricants. It also reduces the mass to be moved (better efficiency), is corrosion-resistant, and remains perfectly concentric.

2006: Spiromax balance spring in Silinvar, which optimized rate accuracy by improved isochronism thanks to concentric breathing (expansion and contraction) of the balance spring.

2008: Pulsomax escapement in Silinvar, which optimized geometry of escape wheel and lever and increased energy efficiency by 15%.

2011: Oscillomax ensemble (Pulsomax escapement with GyromaxSi balance and Spiromax balance spring) .

2017: Optimized Spiromax balance spring. Also, correctors with compliant mechanism in steel. This utilizes the elasticity of materials in microstructures and replaces articulations with pivots and leaf springs. This technical development offers numerous advantages: simplified assembly (12 parts as opposed to 37 previously), flatter design, no mechanical play, no friction, no arbor wear, which results in totally lubricant-free functionality and excellent energy efficiency.

Source: Patek Philippe

The Watches October 15, 2021

Patek Philippe Updates Three Chronographs

Patek Philippe this week introduces new versions of three existing chronographs, including one (Reference 5905) with an olive-green dial set into a steel case with an Aquanaut-inspired steel bracelet.

The other two debuts, new versions of Reference 5204 (a split-second chronograph with perpetual calendar) and Reference 5930 (a world time flyback chronograph) each feature new case metal and/or a new dial color.

The new Patek Philippe 5905/1A-001 is a flyback chronograph and annual calendar in a 42mm polished stainless steel case.

Reference 5905/1A-001 A

Patek Philippe first launched this self-winding flyback chronograph with annual calendar in platinum in 2015 and then in rose gold in 2019. Now, the watch enters the market as a sporty 42mm steel watch, complete with an integrated steel bracelet inspired by the brand’s all-sporty Aquanaut (Reference 5167/1A).

And combined with a trendy sunburst olive green dial, this debut will likely become the latest Patek Philippe watch with demand far exceeding production. Patek Philippe rarely cases its watches in steel, and the metal’s use here will only amplify the already strong demand for the brand’s pioneering and highly legible annual calendar, especially as combined with a flyback chronograph.

Specifically, the dial offers a central chronograph hand, a large 60-minute subdial at 6 o’clock and three day/date/month apertures helpfully arranged along the top of the dial. For setting purposes, Patek Philippe includes a day/night indicator at 6 o’clock.

As seen through the clear sapphire caseback, Caliber CH 28-520 QA 24H shows Patek Philippe’s technical and artisanal mettle, with a vertical disk clutch column wheel. This means the central chronograph seconds hand can also be used as a permanent (running) seconds display.

The new watch will join existing references in platinum with a blue dial and in rose gold with a brown dial. Price: $59,140.

Reference 5204R-011 A

Patek Philippe dresses up its classically styled split-seconds chronograph and perpetual calendar with a more contemporary sunburst slate grey dial and matching strap.

The new Patek Philippe 5204R-011 is a split-seconds chronograph and perpetual calendar in a 40mm rose gold case.

The 40mm watch’s highly desirable technical pairing, first offered in rose gold in 2016, is, like the annual calendar, notable for its legibility. It displays day and month in two apertures at 12 o’clock. Small seconds and the instantaneous 30-minute counter appear on two subdials at 9 and 3 o’clock, while two round apertures display the leap-year cycle between 4 and 5 o’clock. And helpfully, the date hand (at 6 o’clock) includes a moonphase display.

Through its clear sapphire caseback the Reference 5204R allows a view of the manual-wind Caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q, first introduced in 2012. This caliber, with two column wheels, a horizontal clutch and a split-seconds mechanism, is a recipient of seven patents.

The watch is available on a shiny slate gray calf leather strap with an embossed alligator pattern and a rose gold fold-over clasp. Available with interchangeable sapphire crystal and solid caseback, it is joining the two existing versions in rose gold. Price: $309,893.

Reference 5930P-001

This automatic World Time Flyback Chronograph is resplendent with its all-new 39.5mm platinum case, especially as it complements a sexy green dial and matching strap.

The new Patek Philippe 5930P-001 World Time Flyback Chronograph is set into a 39.5mm platinum case.

Not only are the green city names right on trend, they do so in a retro style particular to Patek Philippe: In 1940 the Geneva watchmaker actually placed a similar green dial on a one-off model of its famed world timer. Furthermore, the case features the wing-type lugs often seen on Patek Philippe world timers in the 1940s-1950s.

If the design here looks familiar from more a recent era, it’s because Patek Philippe debuted the 5930 in 2016 in a white gold version with a blue dial and matching strap. Here, the green dial center has been guillochéd by hand in a circular pattern while the hands and applied hour markers are coated with a generous application of luminescent coating.

Inside, Patek Philippe’s caliber CH 28-520 HU is equipped with a column wheel and a disk-type vertical clutch. This allows the central chronograph hand to be used as a permanent (running) seconds display without affecting accuracy or power reserve.

Patek Philippe offers the new Reference 5930P-001 on a shiny green alligator strap with a platinum fold-over clasp. It joins the collection alongside a white gold 5930G-010 version with blue dial and strap. Price: $100,538.

Featured Events June 21, 2021

Patek Philippe Updates Six Favorites With New Artisanal Finishes

Alongside the many new dome clocks and pocket watches Patek Philippe is debuting during its wide-ranging Rare Handcrafts 2020-2021 exhibition in Geneva this month, the manufacture is also presenting six ongoing-collection wristwatches re-interpreted with new artisanal craftsmanship.

These debuts include a Ref. 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon, a diamond-set minute repeater with retrograde perpetual calendar (Ref. 5304/301R-001), a minute repeater with perpetual calendar (Ref. 5374-001), the Ref. 7040/250G-001 Minute Repeater for Ladies, a richly decorated Golden Ellipse (Ref. 5738/51G-001), and a white gold Nautilus set with diamonds. Prices for all these models are on request.

The Ref. 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon Haut Artisanat

Patek Philippe has given this ultra-complex watch (with twelve complications) a stunning hand-engraved rose-gold case with a brown dial in grand feu champlevé and cloisonné enamel.

Patek Philippe’s engravers spent more than 100 hours creating the ‘volutes and arabesques’ case, crown and repeater slide. As Patek Philippe’s second most complicated model, the Sky Moon Tourbillon combines a tourbillon and a minute repeater that strikes on cathedral gongs, a perpetual calendar with a retrograde date, a moon-phase display and the leap year cycle.

The reverse side of the Patek Philippe The Ref. 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon Haut Artisanat.

From the back, you’ll see a celestial chart showing the apparent motion of the moon and the stars. Patek Philippe will deliver the new Ref. 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon with hand-engraved cufflinks in rose gold. It replaces the Ref. 6002G-010 in white gold with a black grand feu enamel dial.

The new Ref. 5374G-001 Minute Repeater with a perpetual calendar.

The Ref. 5374G-001 Minute Repeater with a perpetual calendar

Initially available in platinum, this chiming watch with cathedral gongs now boasts a white-gold case with a glossy blue grand feu enamel dial. Also new are the slightly larger perpetual calendar (day, date, month, leap year cycle) displays, placed on slightly enlarged subsidiary dials. In addition, the white gold hands are now highly luminous, while the moonphase aperture is made using the champlevé enamel technique and then framed in white gold (see below).

Up close on the Patek Philippe Ref. 5374G-001 Minute Repeater with a perpetual calendar.

Ref. 7040/250G-001 Rare Handcrafts Minute Repeater for ladies

This groundbreaking minute repeater is now extra luxurious with a blue grand feu flinqué enamel dial and a bezel with a Flamme diamond setting. The new model is slightly larger (36m) than the earlier models, and also boasts a diamond-set bezel.

If you recall the dial on the Patek Philippe “Siamese Fighting Fish” pocket watch from 2019, you’ll see a similarity with this new model. Artisans fully guilloche the dial’s gold plate and then coat it with transparent blue enamel that allows the underlying decor to shine through. This method is an old technique called flinqué enameling. Patek Philippe insures that this watch remains thin (5.05mm) by using its self-winding caliber R 27 PS, powered by a 22-karat gold eccentric mini-rotor.

Ref. 5738/51G-001 Golden Ellipse Haut Artisanat

This new design takes full advantage of one of Patek Philippe’s most classic case shapes. Here in white gold, the Ellipse boasts a stunning champlevé enamel dial that has been manually engraved. The watch’s curly-cue decor, known technically as ‘volutes and arabesques,’ nicely complements the oval case shape of the Golden Ellipse.

Inside Patek Philippe places its famed automatic Caliber 240 powered by an off-center recessed mini-rotor in 22-karat gold. The thin (6.58mm) watch joins the current Golden Ellipse collection, which also includes Ref. 5738P-001 in platinum with a blue sunburst dial and the Ref. 5738R-001 in rose gold with an ebony black sunburst dial.

Ref. 7118/1450G Nautilus Haute Joaillerie

Released in rose gold just a few months ago, this newest highly reflective diamond-set Nautilus can now be had in a white gold case. Set with a random pavé setting (also called snow setting), the watch’s case, dial, bezel, and the bracelet are decorated with nearly 13 carats of diamonds. Still, despite the glitter, the blackened white gold hands remain visible thanks in part to a generous coating of luminous material.

The watch’s blackened white gold hands remain visible thanks in part to a generous coating of luminous material.

This 32.5mm white-gold case is fitted with the automatic Caliber 324 S movement that has been elaborately finished and visible through the sapphire-crystal case back. Sunglasses please.

Ref. 5304/301R-001 Minute Repeater with a retrograde perpetual calendar 

Now in a 43mm rose-gold case set with eighty baguette diamonds, this grand complication was first launched in 2006 in a platinum case. Its new diamond frame boasts 6.22 carats of diamonds on its bezel, lugs and clasp, dramatizing Patek Philippe’s seriously complicated system for clearly displaying the day, month, and leap year cycle with transparent sapphire-crystal disks. To add subplots to the drama, Patek Philippe has also added white-gold inlays with engraved leaf motifs in the case flanks and the repeater slide.

The back offers its own window into the architecture of the self-winding caliber R 27 PS QR LU movement, most notably the minute repeater mechanism with two gongs. The viewer can also watch the whirring of the centrifugal governor during chiming. Finally, Patek Philippe artisans re-imagined the finished here with a leaf motif now visible on the rose gold mini-rotor. Patek Philippe has built so many stunning technical and artisanal highlights into this watch, we highly recommend you view the brands’ own visual tour, available here.

The Patek Philippe Launches Annual Calendar Travel Time, Adds a High-Speed Chronograph

Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts On Exhibit in Geneva and Paris

Patek Philippe Pumps Up Chime Volume

Patek Philippe Updates Three Chronographs

Patek Philippe Updates Six Favorites With New Artisanal Finishes

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