When it comes to grand complications, there are very few watch makers that can raise the bar quite like Patek Philippe. Yet, what really sets them apart is their ability to create pieces with timeless appeal that can actually be worn by their owners. For example, the new MECCANICO dG from those masters of time de GRISOGONO, is an incredibly complicated timepiece, but is it really practical? One would suggest not. Not to detract in any way from the MECCANICO dG, it has been designed for a specific purpose and is certainly a milestone achievement in watch-making, but it is not a watch that can be handed down through the generations.
When you consider Patek Philippe’s rich history of watch-making, it is not hard to understand how they manage to continually exceed the expectations of their clients. Whilst it may not be common knowledge, Patek Philippe is the creator of one of the most complicated mechanical watch ever made, the Calibre 89, created for the 150th anniversary of the company in 1989. It holds 33 complications, including the date of Easter, a thermometer, time of sunrise, equation of time (which is the difference, over the course of a year, between time as read from a sundial and a clock), sidereal time (the measure of the position of the Earth in its rotation around its axis), and many other indicators. The Calibre 89 is also able to add a day to February for leap years while leaving out the extra day for every 100 year interval.
Whilst slightly less complicated, Patek Philippe’s new offering holds true to the brand’s history of innovation and precision. Five years in the making, the new grand complication, Ref. 5207, comes in platinum and features a minute repeater, tourbillon and instant perpetual calendar with original windows, for which two patents are pending. The instant changing of all the date displays is a supplementary complication comprising 212 interacting components. This is one of the brand’s most complicated wristwatches to date, and only a few will be produced each year.
In a timepiece such as this, the specifications speak for themselves:
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Movement |
Hand-wound, R TO 27 PS QI calibre, minute repeater with tourbillon escapement, COSC-certified, Poinçon de Genève |
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Functions |
Hours, minutes, small seconds, instant perpetual calendar in windows (day, date, month, leap-year, day/night indicator) and moon phases |
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Case |
950 platinum, 41 mm, set with a pure Top Wesselton diamond (0.02 ct) |
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Dial |
950 platinum hands and applied hour-markers |
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Bracelet/Strap |
Matt chocolate brown, hand-sewn, square-scaled alligator with 950 platinum folding clasp |
So what can you expect? An incredibly well-made timepiece that will retain its classic styling for generations to come and will be the envy of all. You can also expect it to be incredibly difficult to get your hands on one. Just the way it should be.
Written by Tom Mulraney Ablogtoread.com, thewatchlounge.com