Patek Philippe Launches at Watches and Wonders 2023 Include a Haute Joaillerie Version of the GrandMaster Chime

At Watches and Wonders 2023, Patek Philippe has introduced an assemblage of timepieces, such as Calatrava, Grand Complications and Aquanaut Luce, proving its sheer dominance over complications. It all started in 2005, when Patek Philippe started to design and create in-house complications, showcasing the world's thinnest split-seconds chronograph movement — CHR 27-525 PS. ‍

GMT India examines what’s on offer this year.

Calatrava Travel Time

The distinguishing feature of this variant (Ref. 5224R-001) is its 24-hour display on a blue dial with gold applied faceted Arabic numerals and baton-style hour markers. This 42 mm rose gold watch has a ‘noon’ at 12 o’clock, and not at 6 o’clock, as is usually the case — thereby ensuring an optimal legibility for daytime hours.

The navy blue dial has rose gold syringe-shaped hour, minute hands with a double railway track scale. Arabic hour markers are highlighted by a white luminescent coating and there is a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock with a rose-gilt outline.

Powering the watch is an automatic winding Caliber 31-260 PS FUS 24H with a 48-hour power reserve. Turning the watch over reveals the open caseback with an off-centre platinum minirotor.

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Calatrava 

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It has been launched in three colours — yellow (6007G-001), red (6007G-010) and sky blue (6007G-011) — on the counters and seconds hands as well as on the stitching and lining of the black calfskin straps with embossed ‘carbon’ patterns. The ebony black dial gets a carbon motif-embossed centre and gold applied numerals with white luminescent coating.

The watch has white baton-shaped hour, minute hands in charcoal grey with white luminescent coating. The new 40 mm white gold models come with date windows at 3 o’clock. You can also find a second hand matching the colour of the variant and transfer-printed triangle hour markers. The dial gets three different types of finishings: snailed inner minute scale, circular satin-finished hour circle and sunburst outer minute scale.

Powering the watches is a self-winding Caliber 26-330 S C with minimum 35 hours and maximum 45 hours of power reserve. Turning the watches over showcases the transparent casebacks with oscillating weights. 

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Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar and Chronographs

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This is the first annual calendar in the Aquanaut collection (5261R-001), meant for women. The blue-grey dial gets the signature Aquanaut pattern and comes with rose gold applied numerals with white luminescent coating and rose gold baton-style hour, minute hands with white luminescent coating.

The dial also has an inverted display for the day at 3 o’clock; the month counter is at 9 o’clock, moon phase at 12 o’clock and a date window at 6 o’clock.

This 39.9 mm watch is powered by a self-winding Caliber 26-330 S QA LU with minimum 35 hours and maximum 45 hours of power reserve. Turning the watch over showcases the 21 ct gold central oscillating weight.

Now, let’s look at the two rose gold chronographs — 42.2 mm(Ref. 5968R) and 38.8 mm (Ref. 5268). The larger variant gets a sunburst brown dial with a black-gradient rim and is embossed with the Aquanaut pattern. The 38.8 mm gets a bezel, set with 48 diamonds. Both models come with rose gold applied numerals with white luminescent coating and date windows at 3 o’clock.

The 42.2 mm chronograph features rose gold pushers at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock and a screw-down crown at 3 o’clock. It does not have a trio of counters, just a seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. The 38.8 mm version only gets a screw-down crown.

The 38.8 mm variant is also run by the self-winding Calibre 26-330 S C with minimum 35 hours and maximum 45 hours of power reserve while the 42.2mm gets the self-winding Caliber CH 28-520 C/528 with the same kind of power reserve. Turning both watches over showcases the skeleton casebacks with 21 ct gold oscillating weights.

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Minute Repeater

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This Minute Repeater (Ref. 5178) attests to the brand’s unparalleled craftsmanship. A white gold plate has a hand-guilloche swirling pattern with Grand Feu blue transparent enamel and white gold applied Breguet hour markers. The Breguet pattern continues on the hour and minute hands, with a 60 seconds sundial at 6 o’clock. 

The 40 mm white gold watch has two ‘cathedral’ gongs; the mechanism is activated via a pusher on the left side of the case. Powering the watch is the self-winding Caliber R 27 PS with minimum 43 hours and maximum 48 hours of power reserve. Turning the watch over showcases the 22 ct gold off-centre guilloche microrotor. 

The new reference, 5178G, is accompanied by two interchangeable straps — one in shiny peacock blue alligator leather with cream stitching and the other in shiny orange alligator leather with blue stitching. Both are secured by white gold fold-over clasps.

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GrandMaster Chime and GrandMaster Chime Haute Joaillerie

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The 47.7 mm GrandMaster Chime gets a white and rose gold case in a two-tone version with a brown opaline dial. The watch has around 20 complications, which include five acoustic functions, comprising two patented world exclusives, among others, an alarm sounding the programmed time and a date-repeater striking the date on demand.

The striking mechanism features three gongs and five chiming modes: grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie and so on. This model comes with a 24-hour and minutes indication, an alarm with time strike, movement power reserve and strikework power reserve. 

Each watch gets a three-position crown with a pusher: Point A focuses on winding the movement (clockwise) and the strikework (counterclockwise); Point B involves the alarm time setting and the alarm “off” option; and Point C deals with setting the time.

Powering both the watches is the manual winding Caliber 300 GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM that offers 72 hours of power reserve for the movement and 30 hours of power reserve for the strikework.

Next is the GrandMaster Chime Haute Joaillerie, a much bolder 49.4 mm white gold watch with 96 baguette-cut emeralds for the bezel time side, 291 baguette-cut diamonds for the bezel calendar side and the case, and 22 baguette-cut emeralds for the clasp. 

The time side of the dial comes on a black opaline with gold Breguet hour markers and hand-guilloche hobnail pattern while the calendar side features an ebony black opaline dial with 18 ct gold dial plates and white gold pear-shaped hands. 

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The Grand Complication 

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This 40.2 mm platinum watch has triple complications, combining a minute repeater, a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar with a retrograde date hand. The sapphire crystal dial gets a blue metal and black gradient rim with gold applied faceted ‘obus’ hour markers, coupled with white gold-faceted dauphine hands.

On the dial, there is a retrograde date hand for the date semicircle; the day of the week window lies at 9 o’clock while the month of the year window is found at 3 o’clock. The small sundial at 6 o’clock houses the seconds hands and the moon phase. The leap year window is placed very carefully at 12 o’clock, along with a minute repeater with two classic gongs and a tourbillon. The crown at 3 o’clock gets a two-push system: pushing in winds the watch while pulling out sets the time. There is also a minute repeater pusher on the left side of the case.

Powering the watch is the manual winding Caliber R TO 27 PS QR with minimum 38 hours and maximum 48 hours of power reserve. Finishing the watch is a navy blue calfskin embossed strap with fabric pattern and contrasting cream stitching. It has a platinum fold-over clasp.

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