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Lot Essay
Nothing short of magnificent, the scintillating diamond-set reference 5073P ‘Cathedral’ gong minute repeater perpetual calendar moon phase is one of the most technically complex and resplendent of Patek Philippe’s ‘Haute Joaillerie’ grand complications. The present watch is extraordinary in remaining ‘single-sealed’ in its factory sleeve and is therefore entirely untouched and unworn since it was made. Furthermore, it is offered with the full set of accessories. Discontinued in 2016, fewer than 5 examples have ever returned to the market in the decade since its launch in 2011.
Reference 5073 was only available in a diamond-set platinum case with baguette diamond-set black dial. The case is set with 103 baguette diamonds on the bezel and lugs and features a matching diamond set folding clasp set with a further 42 baguette diamonds. Almost impossible to obtain, even today this breathtaking masterpiece remains one of the most highly jewelled perpetual calendar minute repeaters ever made by Patek Philippe, a truly glittering prize for the collector.
Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, the automatic movement caliber R 27 Q is highly impressive and brings together two of the great horological complications, the perpetual calendar and the minute repeater. The minute repeater has been one of Patek Philippe’s specialities since the very beginning. Immediately after the foundation of the company in 1839, the first quarter repeating pocket watches were produced, followed shortly after by the earliest minute repeater in 1845.
First invented by the German maker Benedict Fürstenfelder in the first years of the 18th century, improved and developed by Thomas Mudge in London c.1750 and then by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris, the minute repeating function which strikes the hours, quarters and minutes on demand was always regarded as an exceptional feat of watchmaking. Requiring perfectly tuned coiled steel gongs, this fascinating mechanism is one of the most difficult complications to execute and among the greatest horological challenges, especially when miniaturized to fit within the confines of a wristwatch.
In the 1920s, with the advent of wristwatches, most prominent clients of Patek Philippe asked for extraordinary watches such as repeaters, calendars or chronographs. Among all those, the repeating complication was regarded as the ultimate and of course the most expensive. Indeed, only around a dozen minute repeating wristwatches in total were manufactured by Patek Philippe from the mid-1920s to the end of the 1930s. The great collector Henry Graves Jr., famed for his pursuit of uncompromising watchmaking excellence, commissioned and owned three minute repeating wristwatches by Patek Philippe which illustrates clearly their status as an ultimate expression of watchmaking skill.
By the 1960s, the minute repeater wristwatch had fallen into obscurity. However, in 1989, Philippe Stern decided to reintroduce minute repeaters into production as part of the company’s 150th anniversary celebrations. This decision proved to be a masterstroke and since that time Patek Philippe has always included minute repeaters in their regular production, leading the way in their continued development. Around 200 to 300 hours of work is necessary to assemble a minute repeater movement and only the most experienced master watchmakers are permitted to undertake this task. Over the years, Patek Philippe has gone to enormous lengths to achieve perfection in the sound of its minute repeaters. To this end, the company has worked in collaboration with the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL) and the Geneva School of Engineering where experimentation with alloys took place in order to find an ideal formula for a metal that creates superb sound qualities for Patek Philippe repeating gongs.
Just like the finest musical instruments, all minute repeating watches have a unique melodic sound and individual character. Indeed, it is a fascinating fact that no two Patek Philippe minute repeating watches sound exactly alike, even watches of the same reference, cased in exactly the same way show small differences in tone and sound transmission. It is well-known and much appreciated by clients that every single Patek Philippe minute repeater is personally checked by the President himself before it is allowed to be released from the manufacture.
The present reference 5073P incorporates the most sophisticated development of the minute repeater, the legendary ‘Cathedral’ repeating mechanism, consisting of a high-tone and a low-tone gong. When the chiming mechanism is activated, first the number of hours is struck by one of the two hammers on the low-tone gong, followed by the quarter hours with double strikes on both the low-tone and the high-tone gong, and finally the number of minutes which have elapsed since the last quarter-hour with one hammer on the high-tone gong. The length of the gong in a standard repeating mechanism corresponds to almost precisely one turn in the movement whereas those of the ‘Cathedral’ mechanism exceed the case circumference by at least one and a half, even two turns. Consequently, a much richer and fuller timbre is achieved, resembling the chime of the bells of a cathedral.
Reference 5073 was only available in a diamond-set platinum case with baguette diamond-set black dial. The case is set with 103 baguette diamonds on the bezel and lugs and features a matching diamond set folding clasp set with a further 42 baguette diamonds. Almost impossible to obtain, even today this breathtaking masterpiece remains one of the most highly jewelled perpetual calendar minute repeaters ever made by Patek Philippe, a truly glittering prize for the collector.
Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, the automatic movement caliber R 27 Q is highly impressive and brings together two of the great horological complications, the perpetual calendar and the minute repeater. The minute repeater has been one of Patek Philippe’s specialities since the very beginning. Immediately after the foundation of the company in 1839, the first quarter repeating pocket watches were produced, followed shortly after by the earliest minute repeater in 1845.
First invented by the German maker Benedict Fürstenfelder in the first years of the 18th century, improved and developed by Thomas Mudge in London c.1750 and then by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris, the minute repeating function which strikes the hours, quarters and minutes on demand was always regarded as an exceptional feat of watchmaking. Requiring perfectly tuned coiled steel gongs, this fascinating mechanism is one of the most difficult complications to execute and among the greatest horological challenges, especially when miniaturized to fit within the confines of a wristwatch.
In the 1920s, with the advent of wristwatches, most prominent clients of Patek Philippe asked for extraordinary watches such as repeaters, calendars or chronographs. Among all those, the repeating complication was regarded as the ultimate and of course the most expensive. Indeed, only around a dozen minute repeating wristwatches in total were manufactured by Patek Philippe from the mid-1920s to the end of the 1930s. The great collector Henry Graves Jr., famed for his pursuit of uncompromising watchmaking excellence, commissioned and owned three minute repeating wristwatches by Patek Philippe which illustrates clearly their status as an ultimate expression of watchmaking skill.
By the 1960s, the minute repeater wristwatch had fallen into obscurity. However, in 1989, Philippe Stern decided to reintroduce minute repeaters into production as part of the company’s 150th anniversary celebrations. This decision proved to be a masterstroke and since that time Patek Philippe has always included minute repeaters in their regular production, leading the way in their continued development. Around 200 to 300 hours of work is necessary to assemble a minute repeater movement and only the most experienced master watchmakers are permitted to undertake this task. Over the years, Patek Philippe has gone to enormous lengths to achieve perfection in the sound of its minute repeaters. To this end, the company has worked in collaboration with the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL) and the Geneva School of Engineering where experimentation with alloys took place in order to find an ideal formula for a metal that creates superb sound qualities for Patek Philippe repeating gongs.
Just like the finest musical instruments, all minute repeating watches have a unique melodic sound and individual character. Indeed, it is a fascinating fact that no two Patek Philippe minute repeating watches sound exactly alike, even watches of the same reference, cased in exactly the same way show small differences in tone and sound transmission. It is well-known and much appreciated by clients that every single Patek Philippe minute repeater is personally checked by the President himself before it is allowed to be released from the manufacture.
The present reference 5073P incorporates the most sophisticated development of the minute repeater, the legendary ‘Cathedral’ repeating mechanism, consisting of a high-tone and a low-tone gong. When the chiming mechanism is activated, first the number of hours is struck by one of the two hammers on the low-tone gong, followed by the quarter hours with double strikes on both the low-tone and the high-tone gong, and finally the number of minutes which have elapsed since the last quarter-hour with one hammer on the high-tone gong. The length of the gong in a standard repeating mechanism corresponds to almost precisely one turn in the movement whereas those of the ‘Cathedral’ mechanism exceed the case circumference by at least one and a half, even two turns. Consequently, a much richer and fuller timbre is achieved, resembling the chime of the bells of a cathedral.