Patek Philippe

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Basel 2013 – Rare Handcrafts, shown inside the Patek Philippe booth

There are quite a few traditions in Geneva and Patek Philippe is known for their dedicated preservation of
artisanal skills that have been directly associated with horology for more than four centuries. Enameling is
one of them and at the end of the 1940´s, few artists tried to resuscitate the art of enamel in Geneva.

Several gorgeous examples (pocket/wrist watches and more) can be found in the Patek Philippe Museum.
Some of my all-time favorites are the tropical “Forét Vierge” dials with reference 2481.

(Picture from the internet)

The cloisonné handmade enamel dial (especially on that kind of level; see above) was and still is a
distinctive and unique piece of art. In the past there have been only a few artists (in general for the
industry) and only some of them got orders from Patek Philippe. Nothing changed, except the names
and the amount of artists – even less than in the past. When we talk about outstanding pieces like this,
we always talk about unique pieces or (very) limited editions.

In the vintage section reference 2481 and 2482 come to mind, if we talk about “simple” watches only.
Today it is (quite often) the reference 5077 (with caliber 240) which comes with that kind of dial and
I would like to share some examples from different set´s:

To choose one (piece or set) of them is probably a very private or even intimate decision and
for sure not all of them fit to everybody’s taste. For some it may be the “cherry on the cake”
when collecting fine timepieces. Well, maybe I am one of them   For me it is always a real
pleasure to look at those in detail and I appreciate it a lot, even when sometimes the motive
shown is not to my personal taste.

Also there have been some pocket watches (Ref. 982) on display, with (sometimes) mixed
techniques – e.g. enameling, engraving, marquetry.

Dome Table Clocks have been on display as well and of course in different versions – e.g. with
Baccarat crystal or cloisonné enamel.

So, what are your thoughts/impressions/favorites when it comes to rare handcrafts from Patek Philippe?

Oliver

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