Patek Philippe doesn’t introduce a grand complication every day (or every year, for that matter). But in November, the brand surprised watch lovers when it unveiled not one but two such complicated wonders.
The first introduction debuted on Nov. 10, when Philippe Stern, the president of the brand from 1993 to 2009, and the father of the current president, turned 85.
That morning, the venerable Genevan watchmaker unveiled a 30-piece limited edition known as the Ref. 1938P-001 Minute Repeater With Alarm. Named after Stern’s birth year, the rarefied piece was a gift from his son and current president of the brand, Thierry Stern, who had the dust cover of the 41 mm platinum officer’s-style case hand-engraved: A mon pere, 85 ans de passion horlogere (“To my father, 85 years of watchmaking passion”).
Equipped with a new movement that Patek has vowed to never use again—the quadruple-patented, self-winding R AL 27 PS caliber, featuring a minute repeater, the elder Stern’s favorite complication, as well as an alarm that chimes the programmed time on two classic gongs—the model boasts something else you rarely, if ever, see on a luxury watch: a face upon its face. Specifically, that of Philippe Stern in Grand Feu white and grey miniature painting on a Grand Feu black enamel background.
As if that weren’t enough newness to last a season, just four days later, Patek rolled out seven new high-jewelry timepieces within the Aquanaut and Nautilus families, including its first Aquanaut minute repeater, available in two rose gold versions: the self-winding Aquanaut Luce Ref. 5260/355R in a Technicolor dreamcoat of multicolored baguette-cut sapphires (3.19 cts.) and baguette- and brilliant-cut diamonds (8.03 cts., to be exact); and the considerably flashier Ref. 5260/1455R, invisibly set with 779 multicolored baguette-cut sapphires (45.05 cts.) forming a rainbow on the bezel, case sides, and bracelet.
Naturally, both pieces are priced on request.
The Nautilus novelties—including three models combining diamonds with either blue sapphires, rubies, or emeralds, and two rose gold models with a vibrant purple color scheme—are only slightly more accessible.
Take the two Nautilus models in 32 mm rose gold, the 7010/1R on a rose gold bracelet and the 7010R on an ultra-resistant composite strap, priced at $56,180 and $39,620, respectively.
Designed to showcase the brand’s gift for stone-setting and its embrace of bold, feminine colors, the pieces are part of what Patek described as its “autumnal bouquet,” a sign that despite the flagging economy, the world’s leading watchmaker is feeling rosy.
Top: Ref. 1938P-001 Minute Repeater With Alarm in 41 mm platinum officer’s-style case, price on request
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