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Lot Essay
An incredible four years in development and with four new patents, the platinum reference 5275P hour chiming clockwatch with jumping hours and simultaneously jumping minutes and seconds, is one of the most important and exceptional high complication watches made by Patek Philippe in the 21st century. Released by the company for its 175th anniversary in 2014, a maximum of 175 pieces were made.
This aesthetically and technically superb timepiece was only available by invitation to Patek Philippe’s best clients who were hand-picked by Philippe and Thierry Stern themselves.
Reference 5275P pays homage to another special anniversary edition jump hour watch – the reference 3969, released in 1989 to celebrate Patek Philippe's 150th Anniversary. However, the present watch, reference 5275P, is an altogether different proposition both decoratively and mechanically. The 39.8 mm. cushion-form solid platinum case is a masterpiece, with foliate hand-engraved sides and slide for the selection of the strike or silent for the hour striking. The back bears the special engraved dedication “175e Anniversaire 1839-2014”. The dial is exquisitely decorated with vertical line and foliate engraving surrounding the minutes and seconds chapter rings. The caliber 32-650 HGS PS movement composed of 438 parts is an incredible feat of watchmaking skill, the striking mechanism chimes automatically on each hour in the manner of a clock and can be disengaged when not required. Until the development of the present reference, Patek Philippe had not used a chiming clockwatch mechanism in a wristwatch since the 1920s, and then only in two special order watches for the American industrial tycoon James Ward Packard.
The new system for the ‘jumping’ of not only the hours, but also the minutes and seconds is most ingenious. For the hours, instead of the usual springs and levers used in most jump-hour watches, a coaxial wheel train is employed so that the hour disc jumps instantaneously and remains exactly centred. A similar coaxial wheel system controls the minutes and seconds functions and furthermore both are synchronised so that they jump instantly in less than a tenth of a second. The four patents of Patek Philippe Caliber 32-650 HGS PS are:
1. Isolation of the hour strike mechanism (allowing for both disabling and disconnection of the striking mechanism from the movement).
2. Jumping mechanism with coaxial wheels (for the jumping seconds – controls the movements of the seconds via a wheel train instead of the standard springs and levers).
3. Jumping mechanism with coaxial wheels for the jumping hours – similar to the patent above, but applied to the hours.
4. Mechanism for synchronizing two jumping indications allowing the seconds and minute displays to change simultaneously, without any time lag.
This aesthetically and technically superb timepiece was only available by invitation to Patek Philippe’s best clients who were hand-picked by Philippe and Thierry Stern themselves.
Reference 5275P pays homage to another special anniversary edition jump hour watch – the reference 3969, released in 1989 to celebrate Patek Philippe's 150th Anniversary. However, the present watch, reference 5275P, is an altogether different proposition both decoratively and mechanically. The 39.8 mm. cushion-form solid platinum case is a masterpiece, with foliate hand-engraved sides and slide for the selection of the strike or silent for the hour striking. The back bears the special engraved dedication “175e Anniversaire 1839-2014”. The dial is exquisitely decorated with vertical line and foliate engraving surrounding the minutes and seconds chapter rings. The caliber 32-650 HGS PS movement composed of 438 parts is an incredible feat of watchmaking skill, the striking mechanism chimes automatically on each hour in the manner of a clock and can be disengaged when not required. Until the development of the present reference, Patek Philippe had not used a chiming clockwatch mechanism in a wristwatch since the 1920s, and then only in two special order watches for the American industrial tycoon James Ward Packard.
The new system for the ‘jumping’ of not only the hours, but also the minutes and seconds is most ingenious. For the hours, instead of the usual springs and levers used in most jump-hour watches, a coaxial wheel train is employed so that the hour disc jumps instantaneously and remains exactly centred. A similar coaxial wheel system controls the minutes and seconds functions and furthermore both are synchronised so that they jump instantly in less than a tenth of a second. The four patents of Patek Philippe Caliber 32-650 HGS PS are:
1. Isolation of the hour strike mechanism (allowing for both disabling and disconnection of the striking mechanism from the movement).
2. Jumping mechanism with coaxial wheels (for the jumping seconds – controls the movements of the seconds via a wheel train instead of the standard springs and levers).
3. Jumping mechanism with coaxial wheels for the jumping hours – similar to the patent above, but applied to the hours.
4. Mechanism for synchronizing two jumping indications allowing the seconds and minute displays to change simultaneously, without any time lag.