Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe Ref. 5275 Chiming Jump Hour – a highly sophisticated piece and no ...

 

I am not only speaking about the exclusive caliber.

Patek Philippe says: “This grand ballet of sight and sound is produced in a limited edition of 175 watches.” The latter is probably the only thing to blame them, but more on this latter.

The first time I saw it behind glass it got my attention for several reasons – good  and bad. I have a weakness for jumping hour watches in general and a soft spot for tonneau-shaped cases, but I was not sure about the hour strike complication and the amount of decor – on the first view.

The first details about the features have been nice, but not too impressive to me. I decided to look closer, because I felt that there might be more and probably something not to be missed. As it is one of the commemorative timepieces for the 175^th Anniversary I was not surprised to see rare handcrafts on top. Also a tonneau-shaped wristwatch with a jumping hour as a commemorative piece we have seen before at their 150^th Anniversary.

Both pieces share something else. They are exclusive models for a big anniversary.

To fully appreciate it, one needs more than one view for such a sophisticated and yet simple piece.

The engraved case is in platinum, its dimensions are 39.8mm x 47.4mm and with a height of 11.3mm.

 

It’s time to look in more detail and on live pictures.

The simple tonneau-shaped case (front view) I like a lot and the small slide at 10 o´clock is the cherry on the cake.

 

The side view on the slider is even more adorable, isn´t it.

The hand-engraving here is very well executed and adds some additional spice for the connoisseur of rare handcrafts.

The silvery opaline dial shows an embossed decor which is quite uncommon today and the minute scale is circular-grained. The decoration of scrolls on a finely hatched background is nice to look at and so is the font used for the numbers and the matt grey hands. It might not be for everyone, but for sure it is outstanding.

Still thinking about the amazing piece with a “more simple” dial and if it wouldn´t be even more adorable and understated at the same time. A plain silvery dial with a brushed finish, something we know from the early Calatrava´s …

The back is just fine for what it is –a commemorative Patek Philippe, even when it might be hurtful to cover the beauty of the movement inside. Try to look at it like a private secret and in case you want to lift it from time to time, some nicely taken macro pictures will help out here.

What we see here is very modern and traditional at the same time and not only on the first view. Look at the shape of the bridges, the features … finishing details shown. To make it short, it is a feast for the eyes – even when I had no detailed chance to observe it with patience.

During the festivities there was a nice chance to see and to learn more about, but it was always quite busy as you can probably imagine and I didn´t get another chance – unfortunately.

The caliber 32-650 HGS PS is a completely new movement with four patent applications, developed by PP and exclusive for the Ref. 5275.

Contrary to ordinary jumping mechanisms, which usually call for additional energy-hungry jumper systems, this caliber functions solely by means of gears and the instantaneous displays are fully integrated into the base movement – resulting in a total of 438 parts, a considerable number for a watch devoted to the hours, minutes and seconds. To reduce inertia, PP included several silicon-based components, particularly for the jumping seconds. Despite its four complications the power reserve is 48 hours with a single barrel. The use of a patented Spiromax balance spring made of Silinvar should contribute to the movement’s long-term reliability and rate accuracy.

I was told the striking mechanism is a delight for the ear, but I had no chance to test it. I am quite picky here, but would expect only the best from Patek Philippe. At the top of each hour, a hammer strikes a single blow on a gong, in perfect synchrony with the instantaneous jump in the aperture. The sound indication may be de-activated at will, using the small slide at 10 o´cock.

 

Side note : If someone needs close-up pictures from the movement of his own watch at a later time, I would be more than happy to support here and I could do a sound file as well …

On the wrist

It is easy to imagine on the wrist of someone in love/business with fine antiques or fine arts, but probably not for someone with an “ordinary” office job – bank, insurance, consulting and so on. It is not meant to be offensive to anyone, but an evaluation based on my own experiences.

“On”, it makes me smile and I didn´t even mention the engraving …

The folding clasp is very well executed (no surprise!), but once more I would change it with something more simple when wearing it.

Does it fit to the watch in general? Yes, absolutely.

Conclusion

It is an outstanding piece for several reasons. Even when some of us will still hope to see that piece/movement in a more simple or slightly different version, it won´t happen. Why? Simply because, it was decided like this by Mr. Stern himself. The rare handcrafts pay tribute to the history of Patek Philippe and so is the exclusive movement. Anything else to expect from a commemorative piece?

Each piece is kind of unique if we look in detail at the case or on the dial. Above I mentioned “the only thing to blame” and especially I had the exclusivity of the movement in mind. Even when there are 175 pieces in total, it might be one of if not the most interesting piece (from the 175^th Anniversary) for the serious and matured Patek Philippe collector, in the long-run.

The year of the festivities is almost over and I hope the commemorative pieces (all of them) inspired some of the novelties we will see in Basel 2015, especially for those who didn´t manage to get what they wanted to get – for whatever reasons.

 

Cordially,

Oliver

Plus, two more pictures just for the pleasure of looking if you don´t mind ...

This message has been edited by small-luxury-world on 2014-11-17 07:43:54 This message has been edited by small-luxury-world on 2014-12-10 12:32:44

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