Only a brand like Patek Philippe can pull off making a special edition watch in steel and later offer a production model in White Gold and not diminish the value of either. Yes, we are talking about the new family of Ref. 6007G models that were launched during the Watches & Wonder Geneva show at the end of March earlier this year.
Fans of the brand will remember that back in 2020, Patek Philippe offered a 1,000-piece limited edition of the Ref. 6007A, which was created in the same dial design you see on these fantastic pieces but offered a blue dial along with a stainless-steel case, a rare occurrence within the house of Patek Philippe. This previous limited edition was created to commemorate the opening of their new PP6 production building.
The new Ref. 6007G collection, however, are production models and come in a more modern style. Firstly, the dials have been created in an ebony black colour, that offers three different finishing styles. The least obvious is on the outer ring where there is a smooth polished surface, next the hour track offers a fine circular grain. The most obvious texture on the dial, however, is the carbon fibre-like pattern that has been embossed on the centre portion of the dial. This dial pattern was also seen on Patek Philippe’s 2017 contribution to Only Watch where this pattern was guilloché-ed onto the dial of the first and only titanium version of the Ref. 5208 (it was ultimately sold for CHF 6.2 million).
Circling back to the Ref 6007G collection, the black of the dial is contrasted nicely with accents of colour, just below the hour markers, on the minutes track, and on the second’s hand as well. There are three variations, offering blue, yellow or red colour options and each of these comes paired with a black calfskin strap, also with an embossed ‘carbon’ motif and stitching of the corresponding colour. Each of these watches will be housed in a 40mm white gold case.
Unlike the Ref. 6007A, the limited edition offered in 2020, the new variant comes with a new movement, the calibre 26-330 S C which offers a 45-hour power reserve and a Spiromax balance spring. As with all Patek Philippe watches, the movement also bears the Patek Philippe seal.
Although the watch is clad in a white-gold case, this Patek Philippe Ref. 6007G represents one of the sportier watches within the Calatrava family. The carbon embossed pattern offers quite a dynamic aesthetic yet still maintains the watchmaking savoire faire associated with a brand that sits near the pinnacle of the horology industry. Also, how can we resist the chance to add some vibrant colour into what is normally a very, let’s say, monochromatic collection?
It is no secret that luxury watch brands have been taking keen interest in jewellery for years as part of their learning curve to design horological sculptures. The idea is to look beyond pure timekeeping and precision instruments to develop extraordinary jewels of time; this of course has nothing to do with the jewels in mechanical calibres!
Isabelle Cerboneschi, a renowned historian of fashion, watchmaking and jewellery had this to say when asked about the watch brand that paved the way in terms of applying ornamentation in its collections, “If we’re talking about the last two centuries, I would definitely say Vacheron Constantin. The company, which was founded in 1755, joined forces with the Parisian jeweller Ferdinand Verger (which later changed to the name Verger Frères in 1921) as early as 1879…until 1938. Together, they created jewellery that told time according to the style and taste of that period, including some Art Nouveau and Art Deco marvels. They had nothing to envy the pieces of the great jewellers of Place Vendôme in Paris. The Verger Company had registered numerous patents in the field of jewellery and watchmaking, and Vacheron Constantin benefited from these awe-inspiring inventions. For instance, in the company’s archives, there is a watch with flaps that opens mechanically to reveal the time.”
Vacheron Constantin 1972
Jewellery and watchmaking in Geneva, the home of Vacheron Constantin, became interlinked when the austere Christian reformer John Calvin ran the show in the city back in the 16th century. He banned jewellery, and thus the craftspeople all switched to watchmaking; it is a well-known story in the city, and shaped the destiny of watchmaking in Switzerland, as did the Reformation in general. Swiss watchmakers later developed a reputation for crafting highly ornate pieces, in stark contrast with their English and American counterparts.
When it comes to giving an ornamental look to watches, Abraham-Louis Breguet was also very influential. “Breguet was really at the cutting edge of making watches people carried, particularly European royalty and nobility, and some of those early pieces had amazing ornamentation done on them. Of course, he didn’t start it. In fact, it started long before him in the preceding centuries, but he helped make it more fashionable,” said Eric Wind, a seasoned vintage watch expert.
EVOLUTION OF WATCH SHAPES INSPIRED BY JEWELLERY
Jewellery houses have also played a pioneering role in the origin of wristwatches that never fall short of appealing to the senses, and the one that alwayd comes to mind is Cartier. One only needs to think of the Santos to understand why, and then add Edmond Jaeger’s contribution and it all makes sense. Always regarded as the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers, Cartier remains a triumphant player in both haute joaillerie and haute horlogerie. We do not need to see the novelties at Watches and Wonders Geneva to tell you that there will be some sublime “jewels of time,” on display.
The principle of embracing liberal yet enchanting designs of its own has always been at the core of Cartier’s ethos even when it comes to creating highend timepieces in varying shapes thanks to its unparalleled expertise in jewellery. We will just name-drop a few for good measure: the Tank (in all its various forms), Tortue, the mind-bending Crash, Cloche, Ballon Bleu, and Baignoire—We could go on at length but Cartier will always deliver some sort of new sort of watch that will surprise (like the recent Pebble, seen below).
A good part of the success of these watch shapes also has to do with their attractive design features such as Roman numerals, blued hands (sword hands or Breguet hands), and rail-road minute tracks on the dials. No other brand has had as much success with shaped watches as Cartier, and it all has to do with both how the watches look as well as how they wear. When gems are in the picture, Cartier takes it to another level.
“I think Cartier has often been the maker of the best “jewellery watches” in that they sometimes have incredible stones incorporated and other times it’s just the watch standing on its own merit,” Wind said. The gem-set version of the Astrotourbillon (literally a favourite of more than one WOW editor) bears this out. Wind continues: “The worlds of jewellery and watches are inextricably connected as watches really evolved out of jewellery centuries ago; pieces of the watch such as the case and dial were mostly made by jewellers for early timepieces. Often the craftsmen and designers for watches started their careers in jewellery. Gérald Genta, probably the most famous watch designer of all time, started life as a jewellery designer before pivoting to watches and his work very much reflects that approach. Gilbert Albert, who famously designed so many interesting Patek Philippe watches, especially the iconic Asymetrie wristwatch series in the 1960s, also was a jewellery designer. At the end of the day, jewellery and watches are both about shapes and craftsmanship or skill.”
Cartier Tank Française
Gilbert’s contribution to the world of jewelled watches can be gauged precisely from the Patek Philippe Ref. 3295, part of the “Tutti Frutti collection”. Most importantly, it won the 1960 Prix de la Ville Genève (which today is the GPHG) jewellery watch award.
“Not surprisingly, the real difference came to light when brands like Piaget, Omega, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet called on brilliant designers like Gerald Genta or the lesser known but no less brilliant Jean Claudie-Gueit, who worked for big brands like Baume & Mercier, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Rolex, for whom he particularly invented the rainbow setting. But above all, he worked for Piaget, creating emblematic models such as the Polo or other more creative watches, including articulated cuffs or stone dials all under the aegis of Yves Piaget,” Cerboneschi said.
So in terms of shapes especially asymmetrical ones from trapezoidal to elliptical, if one looks at the vintage models of Patek Philippe (the Gondolo collection), Vacheron Constantin (its 1972 asymmetric model, tonneau and cushion-shaped designs), Piaget, Omega and Audemars Piguet, all these watch brands borrowed from the rich history of jewellery aesthetics. All in all, Vacheron Constantin was having its own heyday in designing playful watch designs from 1910 to 1930 like a shutter watch from the 1930s and the ref. 10970 from 1917. As Christian Selmoni, heritage and style director at Vacheron Constantin said, “When it comes to the Maison still releasing limited editions of early shaped watches from its archives, the best example that comes to mind is the American 1921, which is one of the most recognizable designs of the brand with its crown at 1 o’clock and its inclined dial in a cushion-shaped case. Such models from the past demonstrate Vacheron Constantin’s endless creativity and bold attitude already adopted by it at the beginning of the 20th century.”
Shedding further light on how jewellery has influenced the technical aspect of watchmakers or taken it to another level, Wind pointed out, “There have always been new innovations in the world of jewellery, including advancements in the art of stone setting and materials used. So watchmakers will often adopt these approaches in order to advance their own designs.”
Another famous Swiss watchmaker with a history of crafting astonishing watches in bold shapes is Corum with its Golden Bridge collection. Since its introduction in 1980, the brand has been able to occupy a particular place in the hearts of watch lovers. “All the iterations of the Golden Bridge collection created thus far have been extremely successful in garnering a great deal of popularity in the watch collecting world thanks to (watchmaker) Vincent Calabrese’s vision of inventing a timepiece without a dial yet revealing the movement in its entirety,” said Marc Walti, head of product marketing and communications at Corum.
Corum Golden Bridge models
While the baguette movement can fit into any shape, Walti explained, “We will focus mainly on the iconic tonneau shape in the future and play more with “métiers d’art” to better highlight this movement. Having a collection such as this which remains in demand is a boon and the wish of many a watch brand. Timelessness is a highly sought-after value in this sector.”
MEN’S PENCHANT FOR WATCHES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
“Nevertheless, there will always be male customers obsessed with purchasing luxury bling jewellery watches like the famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo whose passion for ostentatious jewelled timepieces is well-documented. But as time goes by, the demand for traditional watches fitted with extreme complications as well as studded with precious gemstones and diamonds in a certain way will also grow bigger,” Cerboneschi said.
Jacob & Co. The Caviar Tourbillon Tsavorites
It is no wonder that Ronaldo’s preference for classy watches adorned with gemstones is no less prominent. He is often spotted wearing one of Breguet double tourbillon models such as its Classique ‘Grande Complication’ 5349PT model. Since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now his new homeland after he signed the contract with the country’s Al Nassr football club, he made it more special by wearing the most lavish and expensive timepiece “The Caviar Tourbillon Tsavorites” created by Jacob & Co for his arrival here in January this year. The case of this 47mm watch comes adorned with 224 baguette tsavorites on the surface, with 130 baguette tsavorites used on the dial and 18 on the buckle.
The popularity of jewelled watches certainly owes a lot of credit to men and women alike as they both love such luxury pieces. “I think of the Rolex Rainbow Daytona series as the perfect example where men and women both want to own this watch,” Wind said.
Patek Philippe used the occasion of Watches and Wonder Geneva – the first time the watch world assembled in one place since 2019 – to reveal Ref. 5326G-001, a next-generation watch that combines the annual calendar with a second time zone display. Yes, that makes this the first watch to feature the signature annual calendar and Travel Time functions. This year was already set to be a strong one for Patek Philippe, as far as the brand’s presence in media stories is concerned. It is one of a handful of brands that gets mentioned regularly in whatever media you care to consume, including this one of course. Ref. 5326G gained lots of attention and won rave reviews, despite Patek Philippe dropping the incredible Ref. 5470P right after the fair, creating a bit of a battle for attention between two very significant Patek Philippe references.
We hedged our bets with both references, leading with Ref. 5326G in our daily reports from Geneva, but saving the first dedicated watch feature from the fair for Ref. 5470P. In WOW, we covered both watches in the same issue, but here we take a deeper dive into what exactly makes Ref. 5326G so special. Of course, there are eight patents working behind the scenes (unless you wear your watch movement-side up) to bridge and connect the annual calendar and travel time complications. We already noted what we think is the most significant element in this watch so we will spend a little more time with the overall look and feel of this 41mm Calatrava in white gold.
We will get the obvious out of the way first: for all its theatrical technical complexity, the display is a study in practicality, and the watch is easy to use. The central innovations here are having the date mechanism tied to local time, and having all the main time functions controlled by the crown, rather than with pushers as is typical for Travel Time watches. There are separate pushers for independent adjustment, presumably to use when the watch stops for a prolonged period.
According to Patek Philippe, practicality was the watchword here, because the date one sees on the dial should correspond to local time rather than home time. Having the date set to home time can result in confusion and errors, as you can easily imagine. If you wonder what happens when you are going about business at home, the central solid local time hand and the open-worked home time can be synched up so that they move as one. Local time can also be adjusted forwards or backwards, with no fear. Now we will repeat ourselves for a bit: what makes this watch amazing is that it is virtually impossible to desynchronise the indications, whether you move the hands backwards or forwards.
Image: Patek Philippe
Indeed the self-winding calibre 31-260 PS QA LU FUS 24H is built to withstand operator error; we are often the worst enemies of our own watches, ironically. One interesting point to note here is that the day/night indicators are present for both home and local time, which Patek Philippe confirmed was simply a matter of getting good symmetry going on the dial. Aesthetics are overtly important in this watch, because the absence of traditional pushers (the ones present are recessed) was something Patek Philippe wanted so that the hobnail decoration on the case flanks would not be disturbed.
There is truly too much to say about a piece such as Ref. 5326G, certainly more than this post can accomplish. We will finish with a summary of the information on the dial, itself new for Patek Philippe (granular grey with gradation) and made in-house (by the Patek Philippe-owned Cadrans Flückiger in Saint-Imier). The day and month are in-line at 12 o’clock; the date is at 6 o’clock; day/night indicator for local time is at 8 o’clock; day/night indicator for home time is at 4 o’clock; and moon phase display is at 6 o’clock.
Our relationship with time is deeply personal — visceral even. Of course, the very cells in our bodies respond to the passage of time and, at the level of our conscious minds, time provides meaning to our lives. Sometimes, meaning can enter the picture in the form of our relationships with other people — this is where very special watches enter into it. This year happens to be the 50th anniversary of Cortina Watch, but it will actually be 66 years since the respective families behind Patek Philippe and the retailer started on their journey together. To mark this occasion, Patek Philippe has created a special watch, Ref. 5057G-010 along with a unique clock, Ref. 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline”. Of course, this is all about history, so Ref. 5057 might seem familiar.
Patek Philippe Honorary President Philippe Stern proposed a special watch to Cortina Watch founder Anthony Lim for the retailer’s 25th anniversary, and it was Ref. 5057. We have reported on this watch and how it came about, and the relationship between the Stern and Lim families in an extensive story in 2019. Only 100 pieces of the Patek Philippe Cortina Jubilee 5057R 18K Rose Gold Limited Edition Automatic were made, and this reference boasted a moon phase display, date and power reserve indication alongside a small seconds subdial. Uniquely, it is distinguished as a watch that began as a special creation, but remained in the Patek Philippe offering, in one way or another since its debut 25 years ago.
Introducing Patek Philippe Ref. 5057G-010
A new Patek Philippe Ref. 5057G-010 in white gold has been made specially for the Golden Jubilee celebrations. It features the same triple row guilloched “Clous de Paris” hobnail bezel as the first model created for Cortina Watch back in 1997, and is the same size, at 36mm. This time, the watch features a charcoal grey sunburst dial with a blackgradient rim, white transfer-printed Roman numerals and white gold, pear-shaped hands. Powered by the Calibre 240 PS IRM C LU, the watch has indications for the date, moon phases and power reserve on two subdials. There is also a small seconds display between the four and five o’clock position. This is an ultra-thin, automatic movement with 48 hours (maximum) of power reserve. Interestingly, this calibre is quite rare, being used in only one other reference that we know of, the Nautilus Ref. 5712, which the story on WatchesbySJX supports. The transparent sapphire caseback features the commemorative inscription “Cortina Watch 50th Anniversary Since 1972”. The watch is a limited edition of just 100 pieces.
The size of the watch and the hobnail bezel are highly distinctive characteristics, with Calibre 240 PS arguably benefitting from the more conservative proportions. Of course, the movement features all the signature technical upgrades that mark all current production Patek Philippe, even if the case and dial are throwbacks. This includes the Gyromax balance and the Spiromax hairspring, and quite possibly ceramic ball bearings in the winding system. This concern for how the heart of the watch performs also speaks to Patek Philippe’s relationship with a key partner such as Cortina Watch, which was the brand’s first authorised Singapore retailer all the way back in 1978.
Stored Value
This was a difficult time for Patek Philippe as it weathered the Quartz Crisis, and a key moment for the fledgling Cortina Watch, which opened its first store just six years earlier at Colombo Court. Both family-owned businesses doubled down on mechanical watches, staking their futures on quality rather than the ephemeral performance of quantity. If nothing else, Cortina Watch and Patek Philippe proved in the 1970s and 80s that patient and steadfast commitment to the values of fine watchmaking would pay off handsomely. Speaking of which, the values of traditional watchmaking are best represented in super-sized form…
Patek Philippe’s unique dome table clock comes in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel for the 50th anniversary celebration. This Ref. 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline” showcases Singapore’s picturesque urban garden environment, from the Merlion to the Central Business District, Gardens by the Bay, the Esplanade, and Marina Bay Sands, where the second Patek Philippe boutique was opened in Singapore by Cortina Watch.
To bring to life the depictions of the city skyline and its recognizable landmarks, Patek Philippe shaped by hand a total of 9.2m of gold wire with a cross section of just 0.2mm x 0.6mm. A palette of 50 enamel colours was used and each enamelled plate required 10 to 14 firings at temperatures between 890º and 910º Celsius. Fifty gold stars and fireworks, made from gold and silver dust, light up the skyline. Apart from the other intricate details and embellishments, also present is the subtle engraving of “Cortina Watch — 50th Anniversary — Since 1972”. The clock is powered by the Calibre 17’’’ PEND mechanical movement, which is wound up by an electric motor.
Celebrating the strong partnership that spans five decades, Cortina Watch and Patek Philippe will co-host an exhibition to present the limited edition Ref. 5057G-010 and Ref. 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline” dome table clock, together with the Ref. 5057R-001 25th anniversary model. Also included is Cortina Watch’s collection of several other unique Patek Philippe creations, such as Ref. 1677M “Esplanade”, created for Singapore’s Golden Jubilee in 2015; Ref. 20094M-001 “Bay of Singapore”, created for the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition, hosted in Singapore in 2019; Ref. 20040M-001 “Twilight Taipei”, created to commemorate the first Patek Philippe boutique established in the city’s most famous skyscraper.
To view these precious timepieces along with the other aforementioned exhibits, one can visit the travelling exhibition which shall be held at the Patek Philippe boutiques across the region. The tour begins at ION Orchard and Marina Bay Sands and subsequently moves to Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia before heading back to Singapore towards the end of 2022.
You can come to grips with this story in person, perhaps at the Patek Philippe boutique managed by Cortina Watch at ION Orchard. That store opened in 2009, and expanded to become the largest Patek Philippe boutique in Southeast Asia in 2016, at 265.48 square metres. This happened during a minor downturn in the fortunes of watch brands overall, but both Patek Philippe and Cortina Watch remained bullish. We will be turning our sights to key Patek Philippe boutiques in the region in a future article, mainly because Asia’s largest such store is also managed by Cortina Watch, in Taipei, Taiwan.
“Patek Philippe and Cortina Watch share an intertwined relationship in Asia, from the establishment of the Patek Philippe boutiques across Southeast and East Asia, to our shared passion for fine watchmaking and craftsmanship. Not only have I personally experienced this through the generous friendship of Mr. Thierry Stern and Mr. Philippe Stern, so have many of our clients who have had the privilege of visiting the manufacture. We have retained the aesthetic codes of the 25th anniversary Calatrava, launched in 1997, for the 50th anniversary limited edition. This is in homage to the past and present leaders of both companies who have nurtured our longstanding partnership. I hope that it will continue to strengthen over the next 50 years, and with the next generations after us.” — Jeremy Lim, CEO of Cortina Watch.
“The friendship between my grandfather, father and Mr. Anthony Lim started over 66 years ago and it still stands strong today, much like the relationship between Patek Philippe & Cortina Watch. This is a unique and precious relationship that truly transcends generations, and I am proud to be part of this very special celebration and to present the Ref. 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline” Dome Table Clock to Mr. Anthony Lim on behalf of my father. We look forward to another 50 years of great partnership and for our next generations to keep this friendship going.” — Thierry Stern, President of Patek Philippe.
Happy Times
Of course, Cortina Watch has built a number of meaningful partnerships over the course of its history. Another watchmaking family that has a special relationship with Cortina Watch is the Scheufeles of Chopard. Like Cortina Watch, the watchmaker and jeweller is a family affair, and a recent reminder of this was the Happy Sport — Tale of an Icon exhibition. Organised by Cortina Watch and Chopard, this public showcase held at Paragon displayed the links between the two organisations and families, which goes back to 1992. That year will ring some bells for those familiar with the Chopard Happy Sport, which debuted in 1993.
The exhibition served as a reminder of the 30 years of history between Chopard and Cortina Watch, as well as 29 years of the Happy Sport model. We were struck by the inclusion of the original inspiration for the watch, the Happy Diamonds watch of 1976 (a creation of in-house designer Ronald Kurowski, and frequently misattributed to Gerald Genta), which was brought in from Geneva. Of course, Chopard Co-President Caroline Scheufele riffed off this to come up with her own design, the 1993 Happy Sport watch; arguably the Happy Sport design story eclipses that of the Happy Diamonds, perhaps because the latter is no longer a square model.
As seen here, the final part of the exhibition is a message to Cortina Watch from Caroline’s brother and Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and his wife. This is also where two special editions for the 50th anniversary come into the picture, the Happy Hearts Cortina 50th Anniversary and the Happy Moon Cortina 50th Anniversary. The Happy Hearts watch is an automatic 36mm limited edition in steel of 50 pieces, bearing all the codes of the Happy Sport.
Nett proceeds from sales of this limited edition will benefit the Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF). The Happy Moon watch, on the other hand, comes in three versions, although all are modelled on the Happy Sport and are 36mm. Each version has its own special dials — blue aventurine, green aventurine and red mother-of-pearl — and are limited to five pieces each. These are cased in yellow, white and rose gold. All feature moon phase indicators and are powered by in-house movements.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Chopard and the Scheufele family through the years. As family-owned businesses, we share many common values and it is especially meaningful for us to be able to celebrate Cortina Watch’s 50th Anniversary not only through the unveiling of exquisite timepieces, but more importantly, by sharing the joy of giving by giving back to society together with our longstanding business partner. We hope that this vibrant exhibition and our milestone collaboration with Chopard will bring about precious memories to be cherished in years to come,” said Jeremy Lim.
“We sincerely congratulate you all, the family and of course all the members of your staff on this important occasion because 50 years is quite something. It shows resilience, it shows your creativity, it shows everything you have built with passion over these years. And we are very happy that we have been working with you for 30 years, in fact, we went back to our records and we started in 1992. And we are very happy to commemorate this happy occasion with you with some special moments,” said Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.
There will certainly be more commemorative pieces for Cortina Watch’s Golden Jubilee, probably from Franck Muller and H. Moser & Cie. Look out for more news on those as the year rolls forward.
Disruptions to supply caused by the pandemic have exacerbated an existing production issue, which was previously dominated by spurious complaints about brands artificially limiting production. We say spurious here because brands do intentionally limit supply, oftentimes based on their ability to do the kind of watchmaking they want, and to manage quality. Rolex, to use the example of the largest maker of watches above CHF3,000, takes about a year to make one watch, start to finish. This is according to independent estimates from a variety of trade publications, forums, Quora and Watchfinder.com. In any case, this illustration can be scaled down to work with brands that make significantly fewer watches. Keep it in mind when you consider the production information from the brands.
Image: A. Lange & Söhne
Take the example of A. Lange & Söhne, whose Odysseus model is one of the most sought-after in the luxury sports watch category; it sold for almost three times its retail price at a Phillips auction in New York in 2020. The brand continues to emphasise that it produces approximately 5,000 watches annually, and does not intend to go far beyond that. This is despite the fact that the Odysseus model only debuted at the tail-end of 2019.
Image: Piaget
The Glashutte firm has been saying something like this for more than five years, and possibly as long as 10 years. Fellow Richemont brand Piaget has likewise been saying its production levels for watches remain at 20,000 pieces annually since 2008. These kinds of numbers might seem like smokescreens, but we should always remember that contemporary watchmakers prefer to keep their production at optimal levels, rather than going for maximum results. This combines with the fact all brands — including Rolex — sometimes release clunkers or just models that will eventually be retired. When entire collections such as the Audemars Piguet Millenary are retired (at least in a typical gent’s style), the resulting capacity is simply assigned to other collections.
Speaking of retired collections or models, these are the truly rare watches out there. These will hardly ever be present in large numbers on social media, reselling platforms or brick and mortar stores. After all, whatever is discontinued cannot be found in stores brand new, except for whatever stock remains unsold, and brands will probably act to buy those back to protect their brand value. We have mentioned this earlier and will illustrate the point further with some official statements and quotes. In advance of that, we will take a stand here and suggest that if scarcity is the marker you trust best to establish value, then whatever models you do not see for sale are truly scarce. That makes sense from the perspective of Rolex stores without anything to buy… Or is this just a sign that some watches are so popular that watchmakers are having a tough time meeting demand? Indeed, we think that excited watch buyers are confusing popularity for scarcity.
All this is well and good, and represents a cursory examination with some random evidence that might appear to be tailored to fit our argument. For the avoidance of doubt, this segment includes all public information and statements from the brands on current market conditions. We begin with the most famous of all official words, from the unlikeliest sources: Rolex.
“The scarcity of our products is not a strategy on our part. Our current production cannot meet the existing demand in an exhaustive way, at least not without reducing the quality of our watches — something we refuse to do as the quality of our products must never be compromised. This level of excellence requires time, and as we have always done, we will continue to take the necessary time to ensure that all our watches not only comply with our standards of excellence, but also meet the expectations of our customers in terms of quality, reliability and robustness. Rolex does not compromise on what it takes to produce exceptional watches.”
“All Rolex watches are developed and produced in-house at our four sites in Switzerland. They are assembled by hand, with extreme care, to meet the brand’s unique and high-quality standards of quality, performance and aesthetics. Understandably, this naturally restricts our production capacities — which we continue to increase as much as possible and always according to our quality criteria.”
“Finally, it should be noted that Rolex watches are available exclusively from official retailers, who independently manage the allocation of watches to customers.”
That was the official Rolex line to Yahoo Finance, and it was picked up by every watch specialist, from Hodinkee to WatchPro, with some additional silliness that seemed to be just for the fun of getting the Geneva firm to open up. The above statement though does a bang-up of telling us all what we already know, albeit in words that we can rely on as canon. Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Swatch Group brands can all say different versions of the same thing (minus the bit about the retailers, because Rolex is the only one to rely exclusives on authorised dealers, without brand-run boutiques).
On the new manufacture building and production: “Today, the building is too big for us but tomorrow, we will need it. My children, if they want to develop the company, they will need it… If we talk about quantity, maybe we will increase by 1-2 per cent (over the course of years) so we need the space for that too. Even with our current production, we have to expect all these watches to return to us for servicing, so that’s another reason I decided on this type of expansion.”
The above is a quote from an interview we published in issue #59. Patek Philippe makes roughly 60,000 watches annually, and the firm will not be running at full capacity in the new building in the immediate future. Even without the pandemic in the mix, the idea is to scale production up gradually. Sustainably even.
On discontinuing Ref. 5711/1A-010 (as told to the New York Times in February last year): “We are doing this for our clients who already own a Patek Philippe and to protect our brand from becoming too commercial. I can continue to make this fantastic product, or sell 10 times more of them. But I am not working for numbers. I am protecting the company for the future, for my children.”
“This is an opportunity to teach a lesson to my kids, who are the first ones to say, ‘Dad, are you crazy?’ They have to learn, just as my father taught me: When you have a fantastic brand like Patek, you have to protect the brand and not just one product.”
And finally, the statement Patek Philippe itself released confirming the end for Ref. 5711/1A-010, edited here for relevance: “We seize this opportunity to reiterate that the priority for Patek Philippe is not to generate short-term profit, but to focus on creating a variety of new models that provide exceptional quality while preserving the value of our customers’ existing timepieces…we will maintain a balance in our collections without focusing on one specific product.” We published this statement in full in issue #60.
As that New York Times article mentioned, besides Rolex and Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet also has one model in particular (non-vintage) that remains a “wrist-power,” object. This is of course the Royal Oak reference 15202ST, which was also recently discontinued and replaced with reference 16202ST, itself a limited proposition for the 50th anniversary of the watch this year. There will only be 1,000 models of reference 16202ST with the 50th anniversary rotor on the brand new calibre 7121, just like the Series A run of the Royal Oak in 1972. Of course, a production run of 1,000 models in 1972 is quite different to that same number today, but Audemars Piguet has to protect the value of all existing watches in its stable, as well as all vintage propositions as well. CEO Francois Henry Benahmias said as much when introducing the entire new range of Audemars Piguet watches this year.
In response to our challenge to the idea of protecting desirability when it feeds the rapacious flipper mentality, the jocular CEO said the following: “We live in a free world…it is a free market. Who are we to determine what people do with our watches? If someone buys a watch from us and wants to sell it, who are we to stop him? Having said that, if someone buys a Royal Oak from us, sells it on, and comes back to try and buy the same watch from us again the week after, maybe we have a different point of view…”
We take Benahmias’ words to mean that collectors cannot be prevented from buying and selling whatever they want, which is only logical and reasonable. The secondary market (pre-owned and grey market) is estimated to be at least an order of magnitude larger than the primary market (EuropaStar, circa 2020) so shutting it down is certainly impractical. On the other hand, opportunists who see quick profits in iconic wristwatches should be resisted, if for no other reason than self-preservation.
Benahmias and Friedman went on to explain that if Audemars Piguet wanted to make more Royal Oak watches, the firm would have to make less of something else. Other manufactures have made the same point, as we have referenced earlier, and combined with long term growth strategies, all this means that we cannot just have more supply of one or two kinds of watches. Patek Philippe would have to allocate more than 30 per cent of its resources to make more steel watches, and Stern has repeatedly said he does not favour this. It seems logical that Rolex, to use a much larger production business as a counterpoint, would likewise not be interested in growing the volume of its business in steel watches, if it had to do so at the expense of its precious metal watchmaking.
Image: Audemars Piquet
Perhaps if the business in precious metals grows at the same pace, we may yet see more steel watches too, however unlikely it may be that two very different segments would experience the same scale of growth. For the moment, the desire for more of today’s popular models will have to come from the secondary market. This is of course the reason certain older models gain in value over time, when they might have lost a good chunk of the retail value to begin with.
To properly conclude here, there are plenty of brands creating similar watches today, chasing the insatiable desire for symbolic statement watches, such as the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, and dive watches. We have already seen the Parmigiani Tonda PF on one end, and the Tissot PRX on the other. This year so far, the Zenith Defy Skyline is making a play for the same wrist-space. No doubt Watches & Wonders will show us even more dive watches at a variety of price points, and plenty of luxury steel sports watches.
And we have not even discussed the heavily-marketed Bvlgari Octo Finissimo and its part here. Head over to the most popular reselling platforms and see how many of the existing watches we have mentioned in this article (minus the most obvious ones) are available, and at what price. If numbers are really your thing, you will see that scarcity does not always equal eye-watering price tags.
Perhaps the strangest element in this new boom for mechanical watches is the short shrift complicated watches are getting. But wait, we can almost hear you protest, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a chronograph, after all, and so is the Omega Speedmaster for that matter. These are facts, but we would argue that hardly anyone wants either of those watches because they are chronographs. The Moonwatch, in particular, and the Daytona, in general, have symbolic values that far exceed their functions. On the other hand, a collector who seeks out the Patek Philippe ref. 5172 probably does want it specifically because it is a chronograph. This is perhaps even clearer if the collector in question also had Ref. 7071 in his sights, or already safely ensconced in his vault. Yes, the gender of the collector also says something here, but that is perhaps a different discussion.
Image: Patek Philippe
To break down the matter of complications, or feature sets if you prefer, this is about what is easy to understand and compare. Dive watches, bound as they are by codes both formal and informal, can easily be compared with one another. Does the watch in question have the right ISO certification? How’s the lowlight visibility? Can the bracelet be easily swapped out? There are many more such questions, which can all be fairly applied to any sort of dive watch, including those that merely look the part, or those that do the job but do not have the right looks. For complications, there are no easy comparisons to be had. To put it as simply as possible, you might like a Breguet tourbillon model, such as the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette ref. 5395, or you might prefer something like the Franck Muller Vanguard Skeleton Tourbillon; then again, you might also prefer your tourbillon low-key, for example in the Patek Philippe Ref. 5316P. There are no useful comparisons to be had between these watches, and no tourbillon wristwatch stands as a benchmark for the industry.
Image: Patek Philippe
Returning to the chronograph for a moment, there are all manner of executions, including electronic ones. This complication is one half of a duo of popular functions that represents the most significant share of exported Swiss watches, according to the FH. This should mean that the chronograph should be highly sought after, but in practice, you can search for the most iconic pieces such as the Breitling Navitimer or the TAG Heuer Carrera and see what the prices you find tell you. Watchfinder in particular offers the promise of the best price (for buyers) so you might want to use this as a benchmark of sorts. To summarise, what you will find are prices well below-recommended retail, for watches that are not limited in some way, such as some versions of the TAG Heuer Monaco and the Snoopy/Speedy series from Omega.
From chronographs, it only goes downhill for pre-owned complicated models. YouTube creator Jenni Elle explains this quite logically by noting that such watches have very narrow appeal, meaning buyers may not immediately snap these up. You only need to consider for a moment why you would buy a chronograph from Tudor over one from Breitling, when both use the same base movement (with modifications of course), to use an example we used previously in issue #45. Whatever the reasons, they probably do not make sense to resellers, traders and grey market dealers, to be blunt. On the other hand, here is where you can find truly excellent value from the pre-owned market in general, if you want the Breitling chronograph. This is where we would argue the real utility of pre-owned comes into play: finding great complications at great prices.
Image: Tag Heuer
Speaking of Watchfinder, the signature narrator — with disembodied — hands has been talking up complexity this year and this may be nothing more than clickbait and a nod to the power of his own platform. In one video, he pointed out that collectors who have shaped the market price for timepieces in years past are now up against the entire Internet. While this is particularly relevant to address the issue of scarcity, and we will return to it, it also strikes at the intriguing possibility of rekindling the legendary competition between James Ward Packard and Henry Graves Jr. Collectors have already cornered the most important segment in haute horlogerie: chiming watches from a handful of watchmakers. These have always been timepieces that are beyond the reach of mere money — to buy these you have to be in the good graces of the watchmaker in question. These watches are also undeniably rare because only a handful can be made in any given year by any given watchmaker — many individual pieces will take years to complete.
As traders themselves consider moving themselves up the value chain, they must consider if they want to emulate Packard and Graves Jr. To be clear, that will mean leaving behind the silly world of LNIB as encapsulated in the example of the infamous Antiquorum sale of the Patek Philippe Ref. 5711A. That aside, the Nautilus is the perfect starting point because if one wants to stick with steel models, then the story begins with Ref. 5712/1A, but the collection is a good place to get to grips with smaller complications. Since we are using the chronograph to illustrate a point here, we must move to the Aquanaut Ref. 5968A because the Nautilus only has chronographs in gold.
Image: Franck Muller
Unlike the tourbillon, there are a wealth of options for the chronograph lover, even when it comes to the exact elapsed time it tracks. It is also an interactive feature, which adds to the complexity of how the chronograph is valued. There is no good way to sell how the chronograph feels to casual buyers and those who do not care for what might be heavy research. Indeed, to explain the specificities of even one complication will take too long — not just for this segment but such an explainer will easily overtake the entire section.
As we have implied, most traders and flippers will not have the patience for complications. This is where collectors who have invested time, effort and money into their passion have the edge. Why? Because collectors can take advantage of great deals in the pre-owned space. These deals exist because of the aforementioned weaknesses in the trader space, hence the strong preference there for simple timepieces.
Image: Patek Philippe
This does not mean traders do not know that complicated watches are in far shorter supply than their simpler counterparts. They just do not know what direction to strike in. As we noted last year, we think the opportunity is in small series production of small complications, such as the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso DuoTime, the Montblanc Geosphere and the Franck Muller Crazy Hours. These all play well with the Patek Philippe Ref. 5712/1A and its multiple small complications, although they are all well below the $64,300 retail price and most certainly far short of its resale market value. Interestingly, Ref. 5968A retails for $70,200 and Ref. 5905/1A — which combines the same style of chronograph with the Patek Philippe signature annual calendar — goes for $81,100.
While you mull over the above prices, do recall that Ref. 5711/1A-010 has a (notional) market value of several hundred thousand dollars, and all the above Patek Philippe references are complicated models that are certainly much more uncommon. On that note, to step outside the Patek Philippe and chronograph bubbles for a moment, tourbillon wristwatches in gold have sold in online marketplace for under $20,000. If that does not convince you that complicated wristwatches constitute an important opportunity for buyers right now, we do not know what will.
Fine watchmaking has plenty of complicated and difficult to understand concepts. By far the toughest to explain is the enduring appeal and value of watches in steel, with some examples commanding the highest value in all of watchmaking. Even worse are the core collection watches that achieve eye-watering prices by being cased in humble steel. This is the reason steel is sometimes called unobtainium in watchmaking circles, being that it is potentially more elusive than even the same watch in platinum.
Part of the reason for the apparently timeless appeal of steel can be found in the key watches of the 1970s, namely the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. To this, one might very reasonably add the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, the Royal Oak Offshore, the Aquanaut and the Girard-Perregaux Laureato, amongst others, as well as the entire catalogue of all non-precious metal Richard Mille watches. These types of watches are classed together in the luxury sports watch category, and Richard Mille in particular has legitimised extraordinary price points for ultra-lightweight watches.
In a totally different vein, Grand Seiko brought fine finishing to the sports watch category, and has thus given tangible form to what prestige sports watches could look like. Not for nothing, Grand Seiko has also brought timekeeping innovation to the table, with Spring Drive being the most exciting chronometric achievement (in series production no less) in the last 20 years. Such exercises in chronometric excellence, combine with Richard Mille’s excessively engineered options, to cite just the entire automatic winding system, to provide a showcase of what fine watchmaking can bring to the table, in terms of robustness.
Richard Mille, Hublot, Roger Dubuis, Panerai and Audemars Piguet have also taken luxury watchmaking into never-before-explored realms of high-tech material science. The amazing growth in value — even at the level of detail — of these sorts of watches represents a triumph of marketing. Not necessarily the sort of marketing that creates desire, but the sort that emphasises the real need for these innovative moves.
This is not to say that the non-precious metal watches are a gimmick — Rolex has yet to endorse even titanium but that probably has more to do with its internal logic than any distaste or distrust of contemporary alloys and composites. The proof for this lies, chiefly, in the presence of ceramic, titanium and bronze cases in the Tudor assortment. Watch collectors have been eagerly awaiting the introduction of titanium cases in the Rolex range, and that would indeed have a transformative effect on the overall watch trade. The key to this lies in which price segment such watches would find themselves.
Currently, watches cased in titanium are typically more expensive than steel, and Rolex would likely only use titanium if it could get the same sort of high sheen that stainless steel can deliver. Such innovation in finishing (or in material science) would require a higher price point, thus playing into the hands of the so-called premiumisation forces currently dominating the market.
Here, the example of Audemars Piguet is most useful because CEO Francois Henry Benahmias has demonstrated the effectiveness of banking on selling fewer watches at ever higher price points. By relentlessly applying this strategy, Audemars Piguet has raised its revenues to within striking distance of Patek Philippe, while producing fewer watches. Intriguingly, Audemars Piguet, unlike Patek Philippe and Rolex, is firmly on the titanium path, and has actually made a Royal Oak reference in titanium, but that was for Only Watch. Nevertheless, Audemars Piguet could have changed things up in the Royal Oak game by introducing titanium for the standard 16202 model, but it opted not to. It could also do the same with ceramic, as it already has in complication territory, while also charging a premium price because of the difficulty in achieving the desired finishing.
Given how the Audemars Piguet numbers look, it is only natural that rivals are keenly studying the situation with regards to premiumisation. The playbook would be simple — establish a popular steel model, and then instead of increasing production of that model, introduce precious metal variants, and focus on selling ever greater numbers of those. There will be questions about where the best margins lie, but this may vary from brand to brand. Tissot illustrates an accelerated version of the premiumisation story with its insanely popular PRX model. It began with a quartz model, followed up with an automatic, and now has a steel and gold version. We have no doubt that all versions of the PRX are successful to some degree, because the aforementioned playbook works like a charm.
Watchfinder and other specialists are saying that gold is the next go-to material, and perhaps Patek Philippe will endorse this with exclusively gold versions of the Nautilus, as it did with Ref. 3711. It certainly feels logical to shift the collecting conversation away from steel, at least for awhile. Gold changes the value proposition considerably, and raises the asking price at retail accordingly. This becomes more important, and ever more pressing, as prices on the secondary market for steel watches approach those of the gold versions — they already exceed them in some cases.
Image: Patek Philippe
To close this segment on materials off, we return to Rolex. The brand is doing a masterclass in convincing people to move up the value chain, so to speak, and get precious metal models if steel is simply out of reach. Consider the example of the Rolex Cellini, which is never spoken of as a must-have model, and also that of the Datejust, for broader context. In the first case, you will be hard-pressed to even find a Cellini watch to try on, much less to buy immediately. Here too, you will have to register your interest and wait.
In the second case, we can report that you can still see and try on Datejust models, but you will also be unable to buy any immediately. The Cellini is only available in gold, and a significant proportion of the Datejust range is also only available in precious metals. Clearly, demand for Rolex watches is going far beyond the professional steel sports watch category, but let us look at what a typical watch buying journey might look like for just this one brand.
You would begin, like as not, with the Oyster Perpetual — it might be your first serious watch. After a few years, you might decide that something more substantial might be called for, and now you look to the Oyster Perpetual Submariner with date. From here, you might also consider a Rolesor version of the same, or perhaps even the full gold model. If your wrist could handle it, you might even opt for the Sea-Dweller. From there, you could go in a lot of directions, but you will now have charted a rather specific course in watch collecting.
So, the progression here would be from a simple time-only collection, exclusively in steel, to another collection that also offers gold and half gold options. Well, we say that this is typical but you will find it very difficult indeed to execute this course at this time. It might be that you will have to go straight for that Rolesor Submariner… Once again, if there is any watch you want from Rolex, and fortune favours you, do not hesitate.
The business of pre-owned watches is nothing new, no pun intended. In fact, this section might be punctuated by puns but none are intentional, unless otherwise indicated. There is a lot to get through so we will try to play it straight.
The advance in the pre-owned watch business has transformed the watch collecting in unforeseen ways. It has done this primarily by changing the perceived value of watches. Now the idea behind buying a watch that’s got some wrist time on it is the same as buying a used or secondhand car. Everyone accepts that when you buy a car, what you have is an object with depreciating capital value. In fact, you will lose value on your purchase the moment you drive it off the lot, as they say in the movies. This is also true of watches, by and large. Of course there are exceptions, and those typically prove their worth at public auctions over the years. This has been true for so long that only these few lines were necessary to explain buying a watch pre-owned. Things are quite different in 2022.
Image: Omega
There are new fair market prices for many watch models, totally divorced from the recommended retail price, and you might buy a current production watch several years old that has never been worn, from a third or fourth owner. It would have been unimaginable, just five or six years ago, to buy a current core collection watch from a second-hand dealer at anything even close to the recommended retail price. Try getting a new Rolex Submariner with that mindset and see how far it gets you. Welcome to a world where the now-discontinued Patek Philippe Ref. 5711/1A might cost you more at a secondhand dealer than, say, Ref. 3711 (a watch in white gold mind you). For collectors, which Patek Philippe Nautilus reference to acquire is a serious question, to which there could be many answers. There is a simple problem here that we can use our previous automobile example to elaborate on.
Sticking with the Patek Philippe Ref. 5711A, let us fast-forward to 2026, which happens to be the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus watch. For this exercise, let us also imagine that Ref. 5711A is your grail watch, and you have come to this decision — or realisation as it may be — after years of consideration. While Patek Philippe itself is inviting you to celebrate the anniversary with a specific reference that marks the occasion, you decide to pull the trigger on Ref. 5711A instead. By chance, in the swirling eddies of the deepest reaches of the Internet, you have found a dealer with the reference you want. It is unworn and still in its box — LNIB or like-new-in-box with factory seals intact. By this time, the premium on this model has achieved stratospheric heights that owners of the Ref. 5711/1A can only smile ruefully at. Would you buy this watch, unseen in the metal, take delivery and actually wear it? If so, take a moment to consider the state of the watch you are buying.
Patek Philippe factory warranties are good for two years so you have passed that mark — as noted previously, time starts ticking on the warranty from the moment it is sold by the authorised dealer. The manufacture recommends service intervals of between three to five years, and this is a standard advice from most watchmakers. Given all this, buying a watch that has been sitting in a safe or something for beyond this period, never having been checked even once by its owner, seems suspect. Would you buy a car that you intend to drive in this way?
Of course, this is an extreme example, and traders certainly do not intend to hold onto their inventory for extended periods (as noted earlier). They are not enjoying their watches, after all. Standard fare such as the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, Tudor Black Bay or Omega Speedmaster must all be turned around as quickly as possible, while the market is hot. Even something that might be a little special, such as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak reference 15202ST will be treated the same. Traders are, as Watchcollecting.com’s Adrian Hailwood said, only buying watches because a market exists for them; to them, the watches may have no value beyond the market price.
It is for this reason, if no other, that we prefer to buy from people who actually wear their watches. They will at least know the state of any watches they are selling, and spend a little time taking care of their pieces. They might even be a little sad to sell certain watches, and we can relate to that. To be perfectly clear, we support the idea of collectors selling their own watches, especially if they have stopped wearing them, or any given watch stops being interesting to them. It happens that one falls out of love with a watch, even if that watch is the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon, or the Rolex Daytona. Such a watch will certainly be sought-after by plenty of people, and they ought to have a shot at it. And this brings us to a sustainability issue…
Although it is mainly fashion brands that get the bad press about destroying their own unsold inventory, watch and jewellery brands certainly do the same. Just as Burberry continues to be mentioned for a 2018 decision to destroy US$38 million of unsold goods, Richemont admitted — also in 2018 — to buying back and destroying US$560 million worth of watches from Cartier, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin (according to Forbes). In watches and jewellery, brand executives tell us that they always attempt to recycle their raw materials, and that is the approach they prefer to take with unsold inventory.
Nevertheless, we are gratified to see older watches get their due at Cartier, which now sells restored pieces in their own boutiques. These are limited to watches from the 1970s to the 2010s so it is broad enough to include pieces that have passed their prime. Such services are really quite useful because entire collections have been known to come into their own long after their debuts. This includes the now mighty Cosmograph Daytona of course — in watchmaking, it takes time to build an iconic reputation.
An alliance that spans 50 years speaks volumes about trust, respect, and shared passion and values, and when the partner in question is Patek Philippe, the last independent, family-owned Genevan watch manufacturer, the match is truly one of unparalleled privilege and prestige. One may say Cortina Watch got a lucky start in what began as a professional encounter over 66 years ago between founder Anthony Lim and the late Henri Stern, the grandfather of President of Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern.
Patek Phillipe X Cortina – Dome Clock 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline”
When Cortina Watch was founded in 1972, it also started the journey of representing Patek Philippe, now developed into a five-decade retail partnership that has synergistically established both the brands across the Southeast and East Asia region. It cannot be anything but the proudest to say that one manages six Patek Philippe specialist boutiques across Asia, which Cortina Watch can lay a claim to today. In turn, Patek Philippe as one of the most respected brands in Swiss fine watchmaking has also found a loyal and dependable business ally in Cortina Watch.
Patek Phillipe X Cortina LE 50th Anniversary
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Cortina’s founding as well as its five-decade partnership with Patek Philippe, a special 100-piece limited edition Patek Philippe Ref. 5057G- 010, a refreshed version of the Ref. 5057R-001 created for Cortina Watch in 1997 to celebrate its 25th anniversary, has been created. Crafted in white gold, the golden jubilee commemorative model takes a leaf from the silver jubilee creation in featuring the same triple row guilloched “Clous de Paris” hobnail bezel, paired with a charcoal grey sunburst dial with a black-gradient rim, white transfer-printed Roman numerals and white gold, pear-shaped hands. The in-house
Caliber 240 PS IRM C LU drives the Ref. 5057G-010, whose display is geared up with two subdials indicating the date, moon phases and power reserve, along with a small seconds indication between the four and five o’clock hour markers. The transparent sapphire case back, while bearing a commemorative inscription “Cortina Watch 50th Anniversary Since 1972” in white also affords a handsome view of the timepiece’s ultra-thin, self-winding movement with a 48-hour power reserve.
Patek Phillipe X Cortina – Dome Clock 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline”
Also to commemorate Cortina Watch’s twin milestones, the Genevan manufacture has also created a unique dome table clock in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel, the Ref. 20145M- 001 “Singapore Skyline”. Paying homage to the impressive urbanscape of Singapore where Cortina Watch launched its second Patek Philippe boutique, the dome clock depicts beautifully the island state’s most iconic landmarks such as the Merlion mascot, Gardens by the Bay, the Esplanade and Marina Bay Sands.
To render the skyline visual, the enameller used 9.2 m of 24k gold wire, cutting the length into tiny segments and shaping them to craft the contours. Fifty enamel colours—47 transparent, 1 opaque and 2 opalescent—were roped in to give the cityscape imagery a magical tint, replete with subtle gradations and layered effects set in 10 to 14 rounds of firings at temperatures ranging from 890° to 910°C for each enamelled plate. A final sprinkle of cascading gold and silver dust showcases 50 gold stars and fireworks which ignite the gradated blue to indigo night sky backdrop on the dome clock to symbolise the golden jubilee celebrations.
Centred in front is a guilloched hour circle that is skilfully accentuated with floral-inspired dentate edges referencing the blooms of the garden city, alongside 12 baguette lapis lazuli markers and a cloisonné enamel dial centre. Indicated discreetly below the dial centre of the clock, powered by the Caliber 17’’’ PEND mechanical movement rewound by an electric motor, is an engraved inscription “Cortina Watch – 50th Anniversary – Since 1972”.
As Patek Philippe timepieces are also regarded as precious heirlooms that are passed down generations, the connection between the Genevan manufacture and the Southeast Asian fine watch retailer is also in a similar sense defined by an inter-generational friendship between the Stern family, the owners of Patek Philippe, and the family of Mr. Anthony Lim, the custodians of Cortina Watch.
“The friendship between my grandfather, father and Mr. Anthony Lim started over 66 years ago and it still stands strong today, much like the relationship between Patek Philippe & Cortina Watch. This is a unique and precious relationship that truly transcends generations, and I am proud to be part of this very special celebration and to present the Ref. 20145M-001 “Singapore Skyline” Dome Table Clock to Mr. Anthony Lim on behalf of my father. We look forward to another 50 years of great partnership and for our next generations to keep this friendship going”, says Mr. Thierry Stern.
To mark the longstanding partnership, a travelling exhibition co-hosted by Patek Philippe and Cortina Watch will be held at Patek Philippe boutiques across the region, starting with Singapore before travelling to Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia, and returning to Singapore at the year-end.
It’s day 2 of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2022, and we go beyond mind-blowing today. Patek Philippe was so astonishing we had to take a second appointment, but that’s for later. We begin not with a watch but with extraordinary objects. That means Van Cleef & Arpels, and a time for magic, if not the time down to the precise second. The art and craft of watchmaking enables automatons such as the Fontaine Aux Oiseaux and the Reveries de Berylline, and of course the Planetarium Automaton. That last one is a massive work that scales the much-loved Midnight Planetarium up (to the tune of half a metre, no less).
When you see something like the Fontaine Aux Oiseaux, your faith in humanity will be restored. Words can’t capture what this creation means but we’ll link a video below. In fact, there are videos for all three automatons but you’ll be no wiser for watching them. On the other hand, you might feel better about the world we live in, and that’s no small feat. But that’s for another time, because now we do have to look at a few wristwatches. Like the Van Cleef & Arpels creations — including the Lady Arpels Heures Floral, which is much more than it appears to be — the other watches we looked at today are simply inspirational.
The watchmaking prowess of Chanel has achieved new heights with the J12 Diamond Tourbillon Calibre 5. While Chanel has flying Tourbillons in its collection, it now has one made completely in-house. The watch deserves a better introduction and we will try to do it justice later. It has specific particularities that make it entirely a Chanel beauty, albeit a complicated one. An interesting side note here is the matte ceramic in use, which appears both technically impressive and aesthetically promising to our eyes.
The wow-factor journey does not end there because we must discuss the Cartier Masse Mysterieuse, which Hodinkee’s Jack Forster calls wondrously strange. First of all, it is a mystery watch that shows all its tricks but conceals how it works. The entire movement is contained inside the oscillating mass, otherwise known as the rotor, and seems to be disconnected from the hands entirely. To understand this watch, you have to go back in time to 2011, and the magnificent Astroregulateur. I am particularly tickled here because I caught this origin when the Cartier presenter did not. Well, I am sometimes unintelligible so there is that…
Completely intelligible is the Patek Philippe Ref. 5326G, a watch with something like eight patents hiding beneath the dial. It is an annual calendar with dual time zone function, but that explanation certainly does nothing for the wow factor. Okay, what makes this amazing is that it is virtually impossible to desynchronise the indications, whether you move the hands backwards or forwards. The main time setting function is accomplished with just one crown, although there are pushers for independent adjustment; we do not know why you would need them. Well, we kind of do know why but we want to run it by Patek Philippe again before we spill it.
Image: Patek Philippe
We’ll close with a fourth wall break. These kinds of stories are written on the fly, often in little 15 minute breaks on a phone, without so much as a press release to inform them. We do our best to refine them and check them, but there is a price to be paid for speed. We shall certainly return to some of the watches noted here in the weeks and months to come.
In a celebration of quiet luxury, the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711 celebrates the 170th anniversary of the partnership with Tiffany & Co.
Featuring a dial with Tiffany’s trademark shade of blue, where both logos appear on the dial: Patek Philippe at 12 o’clock and Tiffany & Co. at 6 o’clock, this watch marks an unprecedented milestone for both luxury houses.
In an immaculate blend, the piece retains all the signature Nautilus design details: a Gérald Genta designed case, horizontal-raised relief on the dial, and luminous baton hands and hour markers.
It is powered by the precise self-winding calibre 26-330 S C. The caseback bears the inscription “170th Anniversary 1851-2021 Tiffany & Co. – Patek Philippe”.
This watch will be made in an extremely limited run of 170 pieces globally, marking another step in the history of Patek Philippe.
Nautilus Watch Ref. 5711 from Patek Philippe in collaboration with Tiffany & Co. Courtesy of the brand.
A true heir of Patek Philippe’s iconic 1941 classic (Ref. 1518), the new Ref. 5270 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is now available in a charming yellow-gold case, amping up its nostalgic aesthetic. In steel, the Patek Philippe ref. 1518 is one of the most collectible and desirable watches in existence. Case in point: the stainless steel Perpetual Calendar Chronograph was the subject of a bidding war between a group of seven bidders late 2016 where it eventually sold for US$11,000,000 (including buyer’s fee) At Phillips Geneva, briefly becoming the world’s most expensive wristwatch.
New Patek Philippe Ref. 5270J Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in yellow gold
Patek Philippe’s iconic 1941 classic Ref. 1518 is much smaller at 35mm
The Patek Philippe Ref. 5270J Perpetual Calendar Chronograph was first launched in 2018, in a platinum edition, reminiscent of the beloved steel 1518 but visually distinguished in material by Patek Philippe’s incorporation of a diamond embedded in the case. For 2020, the new Patek Philippe Ref. 5270J Perpetual Calendar Chronograph proudly debuts in a yellow-gold case.
Sumptuous, elegant and of a markedly different character from its silvery steel and platinum predecessors, the new Patek Philippe Ref. 5270J Perpetual Calendar Chronograph combines a gorgeous concave bezel with two- tier lugs with the regal sophistication of a silvery opaline dial with applied baton indexes and leaf-shaped hands in yellow gold – what results is a luxurious aesthetic combined with excellent legibility; and backed by the technical prowess of the calibre CH 29-535 PS Q, the first chronograph movement with a perpetual calendar developed in 2011 and crafted entirely by Patek Philippe with six patented innovations and an extremely slender calendar mechanism.
It’s hard to improve upon the perfection of the Ref. 1518, hence the displays of the new Patek Philippe Ref. 5270J Perpetual Calendar Chronograph replicate the tasteful visual balance and functional legibility with a date indicator at 6 o’clock and a double aperture for the day and month at 12 o’clock; further complemented with two small round apertures for the day/night indicator and the leap year cycle as well as the typical moon-phase window.
The new Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is dressed with a hand-stitched matt chocolate brown alligator strap with large square scales secured with a yellow-gold fold-over clasp. The new Ref. 5270J replaces the previous platinum and rose-gold models.
New Ref. 5270J Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Price & Specs
Movement Manually wound Calibre R TO 27 PS with 48 hours power reserve Case 42 mm rose gold with inlays in white gold without water resistance Strap Alligator Price On Application
The writing was on the wall in January 2020 as LVMH launched their inaugural Watch Week in Dubai with a rather optimistic albeit pointed opening address by Bvlgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin citing the late dates of the year’s edition of the Baselworld Watch Fair as being incongruous with product and sales cycles of their watch retailers, prompting a group decision to hold their product launches at the beginning of the year rather than so close to the middle of the year.
The end of Baselworld, long discussed and pontificated among the world’s watch journalists and subject to rumours following Swatch Group’s mass exodus, Breitling following suit, and then eventually leading to the exit of Seiko consisting of both Grand Seiko and Seiko, and Citizen Group comprised of Bulova, Citizen and Arnold & Son, already sounded the death knell for the beleaguered MCH Group AG, the organisers of Baselworld watch fair and Art Basel.
The End of Baselworld as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chopard and Chanel Withdraw
Today 14 April 2020, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor announced their decision to leave the annual watch fair, ending Baselworld which has roots as far back as 1917 with the opening of the first Schweizer Mustermesse Basel which devoted a hall to watches and jewellery. The watch fair was eventually Baselworld, The Watch and Jewellery Show in 2003.
With Baselworld attendance down 22% for the 2019 edition after Swatch Group announced their shocking decision to depart, opting instead to hold their own Time to Move fair in Zurich. With Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor leaving the Messeplatz halls, they will create a new watch trade show in Geneva with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, the organisers of the now-defunct SIHH, recently renamed Watches & Wonders Geneva.
The decision comes after a communique from Rolex Head of Investments & Logistics Hubert J. du Plessix, and current president of the exhibitors’ committee of Baselworld was leaked to watch press and later rebutted in Le Temps by Michel Loris-Melikoff, director-general for Baselworld. MCH had postponed the Baselworld watch exhibition as a result of the worsening coronavirus pandemic but refused to offer any significant refunds, opting instead to offer unpalatable options to carry forward the majority (from 70%) of the exhibition fees to the next edition and reminding exhibitors that exhibitors’ contracts do not compel it to provide any refunds.
Mr du Plessix, speaking on behalf of the small exhibitors last week on 7 April 2020, denounced MCH for hiding behind a “rigorous reading of contractual provisions to justify its position” of only making partial refunds amidst extenuating, unforeseen circumstances. Insult to injury, exhibitors received reminders in February, during the growing outbreak, to pay outstanding fees for Baselworld 2020 and later followed up with deadlines to accept partial-refund proposals by end April.
“The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie is delighted to welcome a new salon which will strengthen the historical Watches & Wonders event in Geneva next year in early April.” – Jérôme Lambert, on behalf of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie Council
With the biggest legacy exhibitors, Rolex and Patek Philippe and Chopard departing, the latest move signals the end of Baselworld. The show will be held early April 2021 at Palexpo, will be linked to Watches & Wonders Geneva.
Other brands may also be added, and the new event will be geared predominantly towards retailers, the press and VIP customers, similar to Watches & Wonders Geneva. LUXUO and World of Watches have published the brand CEOs’ full remarks without edits:
Jean-Frédéric Dufour, Chief Executive Officer, Rolex SA, and Board Member, Montres Tudor SA, said: “We have taken part in Baselworld since 1939. Unfortunately, given the way the event has evolved and the recent decisions made by MCH Group, and in spite of the great attachment we had to this watch show, we have decided to withdraw. Following discussions initiated by Rolex, it seemed only natural to create a new event with partners that share our vision and our endless, unwavering support for the Swiss watchmaking sector. This will allow us to present our new watches in line with our needs and expectations, to join forces and better defend the interests of the industry.”
Thierry Stern, President, Patek Philippe said: “The decision to leave Baselworld was not an easy one to take for me, being the fourth generation of the Stern family to participate to this traditional yearly event. But life evolves constantly, things change and people change as well, whether it is at the level of those responsible for the watch fair organization, the brands or the clients. We constantly have to adapt ourselves, question what we do, since what was right yesterday may not necessarily be valid today!
Today Patek Philippe is not in line with Baselworld’s vision anymore, there have been too many discussions and unsolved problems, trust is no longer present.
We need to answer the legitimate needs of our retailers, the clients and the press from around the world. They have to be able to discover the new models from Swiss watchmakers each year, at one time, in one place, and this in the most professional manner possible.
That is why, following several discussions with Rolex and in agreement with other participating brands, we have decided to create, all together, a unique event in Geneva, representative of our savoir-faire.“
Frédéric Grangié, President of Chanel Watches & Fine Jewellery said: “Like its partners, CHANEL shares the same independence and the same desire to protect and promote the values, know-how, utmost quality and precision of Swiss Watchmaking. This initiative marks a key milestone in the history of CHANEL Watchmaking and is part of a long-term strategy, which began with the launch of this activity in 1987. This exhibition will allow us to present all of our new creations in an environment that meets our high-quality standards.”
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President Chopard et Cie SA said: “Chopard first exhibited at the Basel fair in 1964 with a stand of some 25 square metres. After careful consideration, our family decided to support the Rolex initiative and retire from Baselworld – a painful decision. The creation of this new watch show in Geneva, in parallel to Watches & Wonders, will allow us to better serve our watchmaking partners and our customers. Through the alliance, these grandes maisons will also be able to collaborate in promoting the values and best interests of Swiss watchmaking.”
What does it take to up the ante of an icon to give it a younger and more dynamic spin? In the case of the Patek Philippe Aquanaut – a progression from the super coveted Nautilus – it meant rejigging the Nautilus by replacing its integrated bracelet and ears on the case sides with a composite strap and a cleaner profile.
Since the men’s Aquanaut was introduced in 1997 in steel and gold with smaller 36 mm dimensions, this Patek classic has evolved to spawn a number of variations, each one equally appealing and eye-catching.
In marking the Aquanaut’s 20th anniversary, Patek presented it in white gold for the very first timewith a bold and its biggest-ever case size of 42.2 mm, paired with a midnight-blue dial and strap.
At last year’s Baselworld, the white gold “Jumbo” Aquanaut version returned with a head-turning appearance in a khaki green colour scheme, injected with great verve and spirit yet remaining super refined and classy.
Its signature rounded octagonal case, echoing that of the Nautilus, benefits aesthetically from both polished and satin finishes, just as its bezel is juxtaposed with vertically satin-finished flats and polished flanks.
Distinguished as a Patek sports watch, the Aquanaut’s dial boasts an embossed checkerboard patternas a base that complements the luminescent white gold applied Arabic numerals, applied five-minute markers, and baton-style hour and minute hands. To complete the time and date indications are a sweep seconds hand and a date aperture at 3 o’clock.
To catch a glimpse of the timepiece’s inner workings, flip over to its sapphire-crystal caseback for a reveal of the elegant self-winding manufacture movement that orchestrates the Aquanaut’s narration of time. With its 3.3 mm height, the slimness of the calibre perpetuates the watch’s sheer finesse and performance courtesy of its 120 m water-resistance.
The composite strap in matching khaki green shade that is ultra-resistant to traction, wear, salt water and ultra-violet radiation, features the new patented Aquanaut fold-over clasp that optimises its security whenever it is opened and closed.
Spring 2020 is here and once more, we have another highly anticipated issue of World of Watches Malaysia. Want to find out what we have in store for our valuable readers? Why not pick up a copy of the magazine or, even better, subscribe to receive the magazines at your convenience, especially during the Movement Control Order period? Here is a sneak peek of what’s inside.
Daniel Craig aka James Bond 007 is back with his new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition. Read how the actor was consulted on the creation of the watch made for the most famous of field secret agents even as the launch of the new Bond movie is postponed towards the end of the year. The new watch, with its military specifications and vintage-inspired aesthetics, will remain high on the desirability list, especially with the greater anticipation for the 25th Bond movie which is coincidentally Craig’s last outing as James Bond.
2020 is a leap year and, once again, the date change at the end of February moves into focus with the extra day at the end of the shortest month of the year. In this issue, we discover how fine German watchmaking brand, A. Lange & Söhne, implements the major complication of the Perpetual Calendar in their highly complicate timepieces. In fact, since 2001, the highly respected brand has released no less than eight timepieces that feature this complication and, all but one of them implements the function in the most traditional of ways.
On a more heartwarming note, we feature Patek Philippe’s long-standing relationship with Cortina Watch as they come together to revel over sixty years of warm friendship and business connections. Find out how the two entities cooperated and stayed strong with each other through thick and thin in, our special write-up on Patek Philippe and Cortina Watch.
Of course, even in the absence of Baselworld and Watches & Wonders 2020, we persevere and continue to present the latest horological launches for the year. Rado shares the limelight with the new update on its popular vintage-styled Captain Cook that comes enhanced with 300m water resistance and in a more prominent and larger case of 42mm. Corum presents something lavish for the ladies – the Corum Golden Bridge Round 39, a watch that successfully combines traditional watchmaking values with the fine skills of haute joaillerie. Not to be left behind, Seiko honours Novak Djokovic’s achievements with a new Seiko Astron GPS Solar dedicated to the champion tennis player as its premium brand, Grand Seiko, celebrates 60 years of excellence with a range of 60th anniversary Grand Seiko limited edition watches.
Rest assured, these are just some of the many other fabulous watches that we delve into for this issue. During times of social distancing, many physical watch launches were postponed or cancelled but, definitely, we will not be lacking in any watch related information so stay with us always!
Last but not least, in our issue, we also invite you to take a journey on the L’Odyssée de Cartier even in the times when there are many travel restrictions. Discover how the legendary Maison took inspiration from the depth and the diversity of mankind’s culture and incorporated it into rare creations. Do not forget to follow the adventures on Cartier’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/Cartier
As we all stay strong and healthy in these trying times, please stay tuned into the happenings of the Malaysian watch market and do look out for the Spring 2020 issue of World of Watches at your local newsstands as well as follow us on our Instagram account @WatchWOWMy.
Weight loss is one of the most common resolutions, but it also ironically has the lowest success rates – the resolution might be unrealistic or not specific enough, combined with the lack of the drive to succeed.
A better resolution would be to take up a new sport that is truly enjoyable, and dropping some pounds will come naturally. For extra motivation, pick up a sports watch as an accompaniment. The Omega Seamaster Diver 300m ticks several boxes for a modern sports watch.
Despite its hulking presence on the wrist with a 43.5mm case diameter, the black ceramic and titanium case keeps it lightweight and provide it with unrivalled hardiness. The watch is further protected with a scratchproof sapphire crystal and Omega’s robust shock- and magnetic-resistant automatic Co-Axial Calibre 8806.
Paired with a rubber strap and with water resistance of 300m, the Seamaster Diver can be taken for leisurely swims or brought into the shower after a good workout.
Get organised
Mess and chaos rank high on the list of productivity killers, so starting the year on a tidy note is a critical aspect to improve efficiency. Aim to organise and clear chaotic zones that are within control, such as a messy office desk, overflowing e-mail inbox or even cluttered mobile phone application pages.
While on the topic of clean slates, picking up a watch with a clean and organised dial can serve as a reminder to stay tidy every time one checks the time. The Montblanc Star Legacy Full Calendar is an elegant expression of an organised dial paired with classic watchmaking codes.
The execution of the watch dial is masterful as the key elements of the full calendar are arranged harmoniously – demarcated by negative spaces. The calendar’s layout allows one to read all the necessary information at a glance, with the day and month indicated in the apertures while the date is highlighted by the red crescent hand.
The choice of Roman numerals is a classic touch suitable for both casual and formal occasions.
Family Ties
As the debate and search for work-life balance ramble on, it is important not to neglect your loved ones. The key to making the most out of our precious remaining free time is to spend quality time – undivided attention – with our family.
Patek Philippe exemplifies the importance of family ties with its iconic slogan launched in 1996. Recognised as the very essence of the Swiss watchmaker with its pure lines, the curves of the svelte 39mm watch case of the Calatrava Ref. 5227G- 010 is executed in white gold – an understated choice.
Powered by the automatic Calibre 324 S C, the hand-engraved movement can be viewed through an officer case back hidden by invisible hinges that Patek Philippe so cleverly devised. The highly elegant watch is further highlighted with a rich black lacquered dial adorned with white gold hour markers.
Be prepared to bequeath the Calatrava to your offspring because it was made for generations after all.
Better Planning
As clichéd as the age-old adage “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” goes, planning is the key to meeting one’s objectives with ease and promptness – a well-thought-out plan armed with contingencies minimise the risk of failures.
A key element to a successful plan is exacting timeliness, and the Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Open is the right watch for it. The legendary El Primero movement is the world’s first fully-integrated high-frequency, self-winding chronograph calibre developed by Zenith in 1969.
The Chronomaster Open is able to attain high levels of precision and timekeeping accuracy thanks to the high operating frequency of the calibre, operating at 36,000vph or 5Hz. It is also COSC-certified to guarantee an accuracy within -4 to +6 seconds of variation per day.
The partially openworked watch dial is executed in Zenith’s iconic style, which allows viewers to marvel at the beating heart of the El Primero movement.
Inner Beauty
Living life to the fullest does not necessarily mean endlessly chasing big goals, it is also about enjoying the little things in life that contribute to a happier and fuller life.
The TAG Heuer Monaco 50th Anniversary celebrates the watchmaker’s storied history and achievements in motor racing while displaying the intricate beauties of watchmaking. The monochromatic 39mm charcoal coloured dial is punctuated with red chronograph seconds and counter hands.
Great attention to details such as the discreet sunray brushing on the dial and the faceted, mirror-polished applied black-gold indexes ensure the minute elements will not go unnoticed.
The unconventional execution and positioning of the crown and pushers stay true to the OG pieces that have distinguished the Monaco over the past 50 years, while being powered by the world’s first automatic-winding chronograph movement – the hallowed TAG Heuer Automatic Calibre 11.
This story first appeared in the December/January ’20 issue of Men’s Folio Malaysia.
The historic Patek Philippe Salon in Geneva, lovingly maintained and kept true to its 18th century roots
Patek Philippe is holding their 5th and largest “The Art of Watches” Grand Exhibition in Singapore. From Saturday, September 28 till Sunday, October 13, 2019, the world of Patek Philippe makes landfall for the first time in Asia, bringing the exquisite heritage and legacy of the historic salons on Rue du Rhône in Geneva, the manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, or the Patek Philippe Museum.
Taking place during the Singapore Bicentennial year, Patek Philippe’s Grand Exhibition brings 180 years of artisanal watchmaking craft to to the city-state’s iconic Marina Bay Sands, underscoring the diminutive country’s unique importance as world’s 7th largest watch market (first if you adjust by per capita) and in general, Southeast Asia for Patek Philippe.
Patek Philippe and Singapore has had a historically close association. This table clock was specially created to celebrate SG50, Singapore’s 50th year of independence, in 2015 and it was inspired by the William Farquhar collection of natural history drawings from the National Museum of Singapore. Farquhar was the first Resident and Commandant of Singapore
Spanning 1800 square metres at Marina Bay Sands (comparatively, the New York Grand Exhibition was 1200 square metres), The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition recreates the world of Patek Philippe in Singapore via ten themed rooms, rooms, each with its own distinctive ambiance. Visiting the Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition in Singapore is akin to visiting the hallowed grounds of the Patek Philippe Salon, factory and museum in Geneva – an immersive movie of the maison’s history provides context for what curious guests and watch aficionados are about to experience in each of the rooms where watchmakers and artisans demonstrate their skills live on site, offering insights into horological artistry and the finesse mastered by specialist artisans such as enamel painters, a large foundational craft for the Geneva manufacture.
Enamel painting demonstrated on this Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R was specially made for New York’s Grand Exhibition and it retails for US$561,341.
The Grand Salon will be replicated in part at Singapore’s The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition
A comprehensive array of Patek Philippe’s current collection will be present as well as an amazing range of rare and unique high complications and other stunning calibres. Celebrating Singapore’s Bicentennial, a a specially themed Singapore 200th Anniversary room will present selected timepieces and milestones of Patek Philippe’s history together with key milestones of Singapore’s rich history since Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in there. When you’re done with exploring all 1800 square metres of amazing watchmaking artistry, you can finally take a breather in the Patek Philippe lounge café.
The museum section is divided into two departments, as is the case in Geneva. The “Antique Collection” provides a wonderful historic panorama of the history of watchmaking with some of the very first portable timepieces from the mid-16th century, richly enameled pocket watches, musical automata, and technical timepieces crafted by Europe’s most gifted watchmakers. The “Patek Philippe Collection” offers a selection of the manufacture’s most splendid creations from 1839 to the present day. Notable among them are the royal watches (particularly a piece presented to Queen Victoria in 1851 during the Great Exhibition at the London Crystal Palace), the first Swiss wristwatch (1868), and some of the most famous Patek Philippe “supercomplications”.
Since 2012, Patek Philippe has held its Art of Watches Grand Exhibitions around the world, beginning with Dubai, heading to Munich in 2013 and then to London in 2015 before heading to New York in 2017 where 27,500 visitors convened at Cipriani 42nd Street to gain an intimate look at the last independent, family-owned watch manufacturing company.
The 2017 The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition New York, was a gathering of 450 timepieces, among them 128 exceptional exhibits were on loan from the Patek Philippe Museum, including a selection of historic timepieces with USA-related backgrounds. For the exhibition, Patek Philippe also created 9 limited editions, including a World Time Minute Repeater that had its global debut in New York, as well as 17 Rare Handcrafts creations(pocket watches, wristwatches, and dome table clocks) that paid tribute to America and New York.
Singapore’s Art of Watches Grand Exhibition in 2019 is held over 16 days, making Patek Philippe’s “love letter” to the market not just its biggest but also its longest. With such an expansive space, the maison can receive as many as 1000 guests at a time and for such a lengthy period, visitor numbers are expected to eclipse the other Grand Exhibitions held in other parts of the world.
The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition’s Ten Rooms
Cinema: The historic Patek Philippe film is screened here.
Current Collection Room: This room is reserved for the presentation of the current collection. Its interior was inspired by the appointment of the Patek Philippe Salon on Rue du Rhône in Geneva.
Napoleon Room: The seductive effect of this room is that it spirits visitors away to the Patek Philippe Salon in Geneva, treating them to a fantastic motion-picture panoramic view of Lake Geneva. This is also where the limited special editions created explicitly for the South-East Asia market are displayed.
Museum Room: Like the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, this room is subdivided into two departments, one for the Antique Collection, the other for the Patek Philippe Collection.
Rare Handcrafts Room: Artisans demonstrate techniques, especially enameling, with which wristwatches and table clocks are decorated. A selection of watches that would be unthinkable without ancestral skills underscores Patek Philippe’s commitment to rare handcrafts.
Watchmakers Room: Master watchmakers from Patek Philippe invite visitors to take a close look at the inner workings of mechanical timepieces.
Grand Complications Room: A unique overview of the most complicated and innovative Patek Philippe timepieces concentrated in one place. They contributed considerably to the reputation of the manufacture.
Movements Room: This space is dedicated to the extensive range of Patek Philippe movements – from simple calibers to highly elaborate ones developed for the world’s most complicated watches.
Interactive Room: This room allows visitors to experience a hands-on, in-depth tour of the Patek Philippe manufacture and gain insights into caliber engineering.
Singapore 200th Anniversary Room: This area showcases selected timepieces and events from Patek Philippe’s timeline alongside key milestones in Singapore’s history.
The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition 2019 Singapore
When: 28 September to 13 October 2019 Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956 Open: Monday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm Admission is free
Celebrating Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary in grand style in 2014, the Geneva manufacture created the limited edition Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in seven gold limited editions, and it became an emblem of the brand’s historical and modern achievements.
Equipped with 20 different complications and information indicated on the Grandmaster Chime’s front and rear dials, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime and its highly filigreed case decoration became a wrist-worn icon depicting the pinnacle of maison.
For Only Watch 2019, Patek Philippe indulges us with another edition of the 5175, this time, a stainless steel edition of the Grandmaster Chime with a salmon dial on the front and a black dial on the back.
Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in Steel for Only Watch 2019
The 47.7mm steel Grandmaster Chime for Only Watch 2019 will be auctioned to provide funds for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy this November and as usual, took media attention as the watch to watch out at the Only Watch event. The 20-complication Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime debuted in 2014 as the reference 5175R and the Only Watch edition is available in a single, unique steel model, estimated to fetch bids of up to US$2.5 million.
The 20 complications include five chiming modes, two of which are patented world firsts: an acoustic alarm that strikes the preselected time and a date repeater sounding the date on demand. The unique steel Grandmaster Chime for Only Watch is distinguished by its salmon and black dials, a steel case and a print that reads “The Only One” within the 12 o’clock subdial.
The Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A was first rumoured in Baselworld earlier this year and in the same vein as other Patek Philippe Only Watch editions, the Triple Complication Ref. 5208T-010 and the Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar ref. 5016, was expected either in titanium or steel.
This release confirms that the single production Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A-010 is in stainless steel, the winning bidder will not just become the owner of the highly exclusive timepiece but also visit its birthplace in 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, culminating in a lunch with Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern.
Unique Grandmaster Chime in Steel for Only Watch Price and Specs
Movement Manual winding Caliber 300 GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM with 72 hours power reserve Case 47.7mm stainless steel Strap Leather Price US$2 million to US$2.5 million
In the new Patek Philippe Calatrava Weekly Calendar for Baselworld 2019, the Geneva manufacture introduces an all new in-house calibre with an all new complication for calendar watches: The weekly calendar. The Calatrava Weekly Calendar is so named for the semi-integrated mechanism that adds week of the year indication to traditional calendar complications like date and day of the week.
For over a century, Patek Philippe became reputed for calendar complications thanks to its development of a myriad of calendar functions including the introduction of the annual calendar complication. Developed as recently as 1996, Patek Philippe introduced the concept of the Annual Calendar in the ref. 5035. With it, all the sexiness and complexity (in terms of number of components required, 316 to the perpetual’s 275, but not the mechanical principles) of a perpetual calendar but at a more modest price point – to wit, an analogy, an Annual Calendar is to the Perpetual Calendar what an Aquanaut is to the Nautilus.
Patek Philippe began serial production of perpetual calendars as early as the 1940s and while the Annual Calendar lacked the leap year indicator and the ability to account for variable lengths of February, the introduction of the ref. 5035 in 1996 was a hit. Editorially, it’s important to note that while the Geneva Manufacture technically had a 25 year patent on the new calendar complication, their innovative concoction of cams and common pinions was so specialised that other watchmakers were able to engineer their own versions.
The Baselworld 2019 Ref. 5212A Calatrava Weekly Calendar with new manufacture calibre is an extension of the “useful complications” watchmaking policy pursued by Patek Philippe. The new Calatrava Weekly Calendar joins other premier luminaries like the the Ref. 5200 Gondolo “8 Days, Day & Date Indication” with instantaneous day-of-week and date display and of course, the famed annual calendar. The new Patek Philippe Calatrava Weekly Calendar brings pointer current week of the year indication to the maison’s retinue of “useful complications”. Professions like accountants use week of the year and it’s an indication of time used worldwide but especially in Asia.
Even though based on the brand’s workhouse calibre 324, the Geneva manufacture’s newest in-house calibre is the result of years of development work. The newly christened Calibre 26-330 also enjoys a semi-integrated mechanism with 92 additional parts, an essential addition which introduces a 7-point star on the hour wheel in the center of the movement controls the day-of-week display. Via a lever, a second 7-point star with an extended Sunday tip drives the 53-tooth week wheel of the Calatrava Weekly Calendar but the calendar complication is not the main attraction, a whole host of horological innovation lie under that gorgeous opaline dial.
The new calibre features innovations emblematic to the famed Genevan manufacture’s prowess, improving both performance and dependability. Among the technical improvements, the maison’s watchmakers eschewed the traditional center second pinion with friction spring for a new patented nickel-phosphorous alloy made using a LIGA process (lithography, electroplating, molding) and then completed with a gold-copper-iridium coating. This avant-garde component with long split slotted teeth, is based on an anti-backlash third wheel, the unique geometry of each tooth features tiny integrated 22-micron leaf spring that engages with the second pinion teeth to suppress vibrations of the seconds hand without any prior adjustment work. Friction is further reduced by suspending the pivots of the seconds-hand arbor between bearing jewels. Furthermore, the self-winding mechanism was also completely reworked and refined; by changing the shape of the winding rotor with two rounded recesses on both sides of its axis of rotation, and introducing a new patented clutch wheel in place of the traditional uncoupling yoke with a pinned spring, the manufacture has managed to improve the efficiency and longevity of the unidirectional winding mechanism. Finally, a stop-seconds function allows to the second accuracy when setting the time on the Patek Philippe Calatrava Weekly Calendar. The calendar displays advance semi-instantaneously in discrete steps to avoid energy consumption peaks. Corrections of the day-of-week and week-number displays are performed with two push pieces recessed in the case flank at 8 and 10 o’clock. The date can be corrected with the crown pulled halfway out thanks to a fail-safe concept, the user can perform such corrections at any time of day or night without risking damage to the movement.
Launched at Baselworld 2019, the new Patek Philippe Aquanaut “jumbo” 5168G model is now available in khaki green. Olive green or army green has been among the reigning aesthetic watch trends since SIHH 2019. Tellingly, Patek Philippe has opted for the expansive ref. 5168 “Jumbo” Aquanaut instead of the more traditional 40mm ref. 5167 “standard” Patek Philippe Aquanaut.
The Patek Aquanaut was Introduced in 1997 as a more modestly priced alternative to the highly sought after and regularly waitlisted Nautilus. AT the time, it was one of the deepest diving luxury sports watches with a 120 metre depth rating, the most of any watch with a sapphire caseback at that time. Furthermore, earlier “Jumbo” Aquanaut editions introduced later that year featured 38mm cases. The new 42.2mm Patek Philippe “Jumbo” Aquanaut debuted with the second generation launched after the first generation was retired from production in 2006. Since then, the Patek Philippe Aquanaut series has been home to a growing number of complications including dual-time references like the Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5164 and its first chronograph – the Ref. 5968 launched last year.
The new Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5168G with khaki green dial is made from white gold instead of steel as denoted by the G suffix and is the second edition of the precious model Jumbo Aquanaut series with the first seen in 2017 with a blue dial variation celebrating the collection’s 20th anniversary.
The embodiment of modern sporty-chic, the men’s 42.2 mm white gold “Jumbo” Aquanaut plays up its robust design with the new khaki green dial and while cynics may feel a little underwhelmed by a green Aquanaut, World of Watches feels that the addition of military green is evocative of the sense of adventure and adds to the enduring legacy of the luxury sports watch with iconic rounded octagonal case and bezel combines polished and satin finishes.
No mere update to dial and strap, this green Aquanaut extends the legacy of a much in demand edition, a ref. 5167A “standard” 40mm Aquanaut (back then it was also called “Jumbo”) of which only a handful were ever made and even fewer has ever seen the light of auction. Thus, the introduction of the new Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5168G with khaki green dial for Baselworld 2019 is a welcome re-introduction to salve some heated horological lusts.
Movement: Automatic 324 S C with 45 hours power reserve
Case: 42.2mm white gold with 120 metres water resistance
the Patek
