Patek Philippe

Baselworld 2008 was a rich show for Patek Philippe. We certainly had enough new offerings to please all Patek Philippe lovers. The simple watch amateurs got the marvellous 5124 Gondolo as a subject of admiration, the white gold version being a very appealing homage to the 5101 tourbillon. The serious collectors have to choose (if necessary) between the blue 5070P, the yellow 5970J or the pink dialed 5450P! Did we talk about the highly complicated pieces aficionados? Not yet! Oh sorry! Here it is!

The new Patek Philippe 5207 is the new tourbillon minute repeater watch with instantaneous perpetual calendar in apertures. A truly Grande Complication that can catch the heart of the most experienced Patek Philippe collectors.

Patek Philippe 5207

The life of the watch begun as a wish from Mr Philippe Stern, president of Patek Philippe. This watch is said to have taken five years to develop and is aimed at being an enrichment of the range of Grande Complication watches. It will be serially produced although you can easily imagine that the production will be quite limited as the level of complication of this watch is very high.

A perfectly balanced dial

At the origin Mr Stern apparently wanted a perpetual calendar with apertures. This way of indicating the data of the calendar (day, date and month) is rarely used, even by Philippe Philippe. We know of course the annual calendar references 5135 and 5396, and the annual calendar chronograph reference 5960.  There were also a few perpetual calendar pocket watch examples by Patek Philippe in the past, but I don't think it was ever made in a wrist watch mixed with a tourbillon and a minute repeater.

Still unclear

The technical team says that the need for an instantaneous change of the calendar indications rapidly seemed necessary to realize the wish of Mr Stern.

Complicated you said

On our side we should remember the gathering of PuristS all around the year at the end of last February to attend the leap year jump. The attendants had a nice evening, many nice surprises and a few deceptions as some calendars apparently didn't behave the way they were expected to!

The 28th of February

This new Patek Philippe 5207 is in fact amazing when the time of date change comes. Let me say that it is intended for owners who won't sleep early!

The big jumpt has begun

This instantaneous calendar in fact needs 2/100 seconds to jump from the 28^th of February to the 1^st of March.

Still in February for nearly a hundredth of second

The images you see are an extraction of a slowed movie so that I could picture them.

This is the end

Obviously at real speed you can't see the change!

First of what

Midnight has never been so fast on a perpetual scale!

Here is the first of March

Readability is the first advantage of the indication in apertures. The second plus is discretion. You can hardly imagine it is a perpetual calendar until you notice the leap year indicator at 4:30. A night and day indicator is placed at 7:30.

Sorry for showing such bad pics, the watch was in the window

I've not taken the time to yet say that I truly love that watch. I've always been fascinated by perpetual calendars. I'm a keen user of date watches, specially my Reverso Date. I must also write that beyond fascination I generally end up finding those watches actually very hard to read. Finally as efficient as a repeater that you can' t hear, as a chronograph when you have nothing to time, as a tourbillon in a vault!

This Patek Philippe 5207 is just so readable, so pratical!

I love the way it hides an incredible engine behind an understated and still appealing face.

Do you prefer press pics

Can I add to those who share my thoughts that Patek Philippe will sell the watch with two backs, like they generally do with high complication watches. A transparent back and a plain back of platinum. I'd love to have the chance someday in my current life to experience the pleasure of wearing such a watch and even more with a plain back so that I could just hear the ticking of the tourbillon mechanism, the chiming of the hammers, the silence of perpetuity!

I'm pretty sure I'd have more pleasure imaging the mechanical marvel I wear on my wrist, I own for my life, that merely looking at it! Beauty is in the eye but pleasure is in the brain!

Below the dial in February

I mentioned the annual calendar with a similar aperture principle. It is precised that this perpetual calendar shares nothing with the annual counterpart out of its basic visual principle.

The next second

You may notice above that the indicators could not be larger as they occupy the full size of the calibre. The day and month discs are made in sapphire and the date disc is in German silver.

Another great shot brought to you by Dje

The view to the back side of the calibre through the sapphire back shows a superb panorama already well known by the (happy) owners of the references 3939 and 5016!

A view through the sapphire back

I'm not going to explain how a minute repeater works or what the interest of a tourbillon regulator is, at least here in this article. Still I suppose you may be interested to know how this jumping mechanism for the perpetual calendar works and in what extent it is uncommon!

The starting difference between an indication through hands and through rotating discs seen through apertures is a question of energy. Rotating discs are much heavier and consequently need much more energy to move than the lighter hands. Once you've chosen the much more energy consuming but so more readable (and pleasing to me at least) discs, you have to find this energy somewhere.

In this watch the energy comes from a 425mm long mainspring that winds and unwinds inside a 9.18mm barrel. It is efficient enough to power the watch for 48 hours, giving enough power to make the date jump with this energy consuming device. In fact the worst day is the 28^th of February, when the date has to jump to the 1^st of March. Still even on that day the date can jump even if the watch only has 2 and a half hours left of power reserve.

Then once you've given enough energy to the perpetual calendar train, the risk is to have either too much or not enough energy for the jump, depending on the number of days the calendar has to jump. On a normal day the calendar jumps only one day. But at the end of some months it can jump two days (end of April for instance when there is no 31) or even four days (end of February on a non leap year). So if you don't send enough energy the date may not change totally to the expected date. On the contrary if you send too much energy you may end up beginning the new month directly on the second. What is somewhat easy to master with hands when the difference in energy required in small, is much more difficult with this system of aperture calendar, specially when instantaneous, with a higher level of energy required.

The jump mechanism

Patek Philippe has applied for two patents for this new calendar mechanism. The first patent pending innovation (European patent application n°EP 1734419 A1) concerns the instantaneous activation of the calendar indications with a large yoke (marked #3 on the drawing below). It is controlled by a four-toothed rack (#1) connected to a month lever (#2) that samples the annual program cam. This cam is connected to further switching cams via articulated arms, and controls the concurrent, instantaneous switching date, day, month and leap-year disks.

This yoke is made of 15 individual parts and is articulated to take into account the annual programming that relies on a month cam (#6) with a variable February cam (#4) that changes its profile every four years. That means also that this month cam (#6) makes a turn per year and not in four years like it is generally the case with perpetual calendar mechanisms.

The same jump mechanism

The second patent application is also linked to the perpetual calendar mechanism (Swiss patent application n° 01080/07).

Glamorous from every sight

This second innovation is aimed at avoiding any excess of energy during the date jump. As written before the risk of getting a watch jump from the former month directly to the second or third of the month would be real if there was no adaptation of the force applied to the force required. That is what this second innovation makes.

Top notch finish like in the good old days

The principle is in fact simple. Instead of having a single spring to power the date jump (at the end of the month), there are two springs (#5.1 and #5.2 in the drawing below) of same potential energy. They don't act in the same direction. Depending of the length of the finishing month, one or the two will act in the jump. If the finishing month is a "long" month (30 or 31 days), requiring less energy to jump to the next, only one spring acts (#5.1) as the other spring doesn't push on the yoke due to the position of the yoke in this situation.

Also a tourbillon and a minute repeater

When the finishing month is a short month (28 or 29 months) the two springs operate one after the other. This gives a more balanced torque on the yoke and around double energy at the end of short finishing months compared to end of longer finishing months.

So that they don't interfere moon phases move at 2AM, with a precision of one day in 122 years.

It looks simple but is it so simple

I wish all of you the opportunity to ever see this fantastic calendar mechanism in action. This watch is definitely on my dream list, perhaps even on top now, even if not yet on my wish list. Who knows, perhaps someday!

Modern front but classical back

This Patek Philippe 5207 may seem to be a large watch and it is certainly. But at 41mm it is still quite wearable and many may regret that it is not even larger. I'm personnaly quite happy of this size. It is 16.25mm thick. The calibre alone is 9.33mm thick, with its 2.75mm calendar plate and discs included.

Hand engraved flanks and minute repeater slide

The watch will be initially "available" only in platinum (and only at the Patek Philippe Salon in Geneva). You will notice that it is not yet presented in the 2008 Patek Philippe catalog.

A new and exclusive honey-gold 18 carat gold dial colour

This watch still comes second to the Sky Moon Tourbillon in the Patek Philippe wrist watch range, but it is first in my own range!

A watch of subtle and great taste

Should I add that like all Patek Philippe tourbillon watches this 5207 is COSC tested and has the exclusive certificate issued jointly by the C.O.S.C. and the Geneva Seal?

I could also add that Mr Philippe Stern himself will check each of these marvels before allowing them to reach the happy few, like it is the case for any tourbillon or minute repeater made by Patek Philippe.

A purely ornated profile

Are you looking for any good reason not to fall in love? Honestly if you like it don't look! This watch is a modern watch, exclusive, bright, discreet and fascinating!

No that's not lightweight platinum

Patek Philippe has brought a new star on the market. Honestly it reminds me of a time when all sports car makers were launching supercars. Let me say this 5207 is a superwatch!

A diamond at six

I hoped you liked it ! A great thank you to the Patek Philippe team, for their great explanations on this watch, and even more for having made it!

My best shot you'd better try to see it by yourself

Greetings from Arcachon !

Dje