I
attended a seminar sponsored by Patek Philippe Japan and Chronos
Japan at The Hour Glass Ginza where the well known watch journalist
of Japan, Mr. Hirota, gave the audience some enlightenment of how
PP's annual calendars are different and thus better in certain
aspects. Maybe you, PP experts. already know of these, but I
thought it would be good to share what I learned in case you want to
deepen your admiration for PP.
In total, more than 130 Patek gathered at THG, and it
is not everyday event to see so many Patek (new ones) at one place, so I want
to share with you some wonderful pieces as well later.
There
has been a series of topics why we love Patek. And here is sort
of related - why Patek is good, practical and long lasting love for
us, discussed from the angle of its annual calendars, and the beauty
of the case/ dial.
1.
Base caliber's strength
There are two camps in the torque of the
main spring - so-called "practical" calibers tend to
release stronger torque for the potential higher accuracy when worn,
while so-called "high-end" calibers tend to release less
torque for the durability of each parts. This is not the debate
of good or bad - just each camp has been expected of different
things. Now, PP has been consistently making calibers with
relatively "strong" torque release, but not strong enough
to give stress to the parts to be worn too quick, but not weak enough
to affect the accuracy when worn, since the time of 12-120, in 40s.
The latest 31-260 REG QA, for example, tries to achieve the goal of
higher frequency and longer power reserve, while reducing the
friction stress for the parts by using Silinvar (R) in escapement.
This strength of the base caliber makes it possible to put on other
complication modules flexibly.
5146
2. PP's Annual
Calendar
Most Annual Calendar movements uses its Perpetual brother
movement, which tend to use a big "leverage" in its
mechanism (to forward 3 days at one time). Now for PP it was
logical to take away this big "leverage" by giving up
February. In a nutshell, they do it with several wheels instead
of big lever that occupies big space.
The pros for this approach
is of course the less space for the mechanism and gives flexibility
to modification and variation. The cons are increased number of
parts and thus higher price, and the more parts, the more potential
for the parts to be worn out quick - PP responded to this problem by
mirror-polishing the wheel, tooth, and cog to reduce friction.
As a result, the increased number of the wheels does not affect much
to the overall performance of the caliber. The oscillation
angle is reduced by only up to 10 degrees at most. This
approach is not easy or cost effective and therefore many other
brands do not take this approach and just modifies the perpetual
calendar mechanism.
Wheel
train -> Day (moon) disc -> Month wheel -> Date wheel ->
24 hours indicator
The wheel mechanism for 30-day month and 31-day month. Much simpler and smaller than the leverage mechanism.
Actual
photo.
5205
Now,
why so beautiful?
1. Case
Patek cases are mostly made by
forging, not cutting. Rolex, Breitling, and Panerai are other
brands who use forging for the case. Cutting is, in short,
cheaper as it doesn't need to make the molder, but at the molecule
level it is still "loose" and wouldn't easily be made flat
mirror-looking. Most brands do use forging at some point, but
Patek uses forging (except for SS case) almost all the way for wide
variety of shape of the cases. Rolex and Breitling, the shape
of the case are relatively easy for forging and not cost as much.
Patek is really standing out in this endeavor. See your face
reflected on the side of Patek case, you wouldn't see much
distortion. (Of course there is always exceptions - very, very
good one made with cutting is Laurent Ferrier, but it takes lots of
talent and time to achieve that level, meaning, not cheap at all).
You
wouldn't see much distortion (relatively speaking) in your face reflecting on the side or
on the top of the lug,
2.
Dial
Printing (e.g. logo) and painting are relatively thin, but
take a long time for drying. Patek dial is very distinctive
compared with other brands - very thin painting, but very vivid.
Must be some secret in the process. As for the logo or index
painting, this white logo is very thinly painted but somehow it
doesn't show the hint of the dial color. They paint thinly
THREE times. The examples of Nautilus show the vivid painting
but thin enough to show the base metal brush pattern.
The
painting on this Nautilus dial is so thin that the unique pattern
(brushed metal) on the base shows.
Conclusion (sort of): There is no “perfect watch” in the world, and there are of course weaknesses of Patek, as with any brand. But in total, Patek has less weakness in making watches with the aim to make it last long and spare no expense or labor to make look better, and that is why it is loved and cherished for a long, long time.
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Now,
on to other pieces - novelties and new pieces.
Very,
very beautiful for ladies.
Buguette
buckle.
Obviously,
not for me....
My
favorite
39.5mm.
Very non-flashy, non-busy dial, and thin (for perpetual), in PT.
My kinda watch
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Special thanks: Patek Philippe
Japan - Mr. Nagano, Ms.
Otsuka, Mr. Kugaya
Chronos Japan - Mr. Matsuzaki, Mr. Hirota, Mr.
Suzuki
The Hour Glass Ginza - Mr. Momoi and all the staff...
Thanks for
reading.
Best,
Ken