The greater the originality of the design, the greater the value of the piece.
In times of CNC and CAD it is (probably) not enough to present the most complicated wrist watch with 20 complications, only. With serious funds behind it might be possible to do such an amazing project, not only for Patek Philippe. When we expect to see something even more impressive with absolutely outstanding skills needed, there has to be something on top and not only today. It is a timepiece seven years in the making and will only be manufactured in an edition of seven pieces (one for the PP Museum and six for the market).
Not for the first time PP surprised with something extraordinary dedicated to rare handcrafts. Mr. Stern (senior) supports those kinds of rare handcrafts since a long time and he even did it when there was almost no market for it. He just felt it had to be done and so he spent his own money on it. Now it pays back as only a few (if at all) are able to provide those rare handcrafts on their watches and especially when we look at the quality shown in detail. High attention to details is what we need here, but it could be challenging not to be distracted by the sheer number of complications, features, parts (1.366, movement only) … crafts shown.
Is it possible to get the “full picture” without experience/education in-depth? At least I had to ask myself.
Let´s start with some simple iPhone pictures to get the first impressions (prototype without engraving):
What we already can see, it is not too big for what it is – even when it probably won´t get that much time on any wrist. Nonetheless it is the first piece of that kind from Patek Philippe which is for the wrist.
One of the strength of PP is to make even the grand complications wearable in size. No surprise some people asked for a try on their wrist – not me, not yet.
More to come …