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Intro to the origins of Patek Philippe’s wonderful Minute-Repeater aura
Hello everyone, I thought I should have a look at why Patek Philippe’s reputation in Minute-Repeater history is at such high level today. I’ve been taking my time, like most of us, discovering, exploring the world of watches in general, and of Patek Philippe in particular. I knew a few about their mastery for this very special complication and what the brand represents in the Minute-Repeaters’ rebirth and evolution. However, I left it aside for later down the road. I enjoyed a few of the videos that can be found whether on Patek’s website, YouTube etc…, but I knew it would take time to go deeper in their history. Aside…
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The Patek Philippe 5172G Chronograph – Another delighting alliance of traditional and casual
Hello everyone, Knowing what Patek Philippe has offered in the world of traditional manual-wind chronographs from the early years of the Stern era, the launch of a new line is always a major event. The Patek Philippe 5172G Chronograph was presented in 2019 after we’ve been traveling through all the stages of the 5170 family from 2010 until 2018. After the last 5170P, which already had a kind of “cool attitude”, we definitely can say with this new 5172G that the brand keeps on exploring new fields. Next to the more traditional line-ups, they find inspiration partly from the past and partly from our modern times. It’s even quite audacious…
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The Patek Philippe 5212A Calatrava Weekly Calendar – An everyday-life keeper
Hi everyone, In 2019, we had a very nice surprise with the launch of a new model in many ways: the Patek Philippe 5212A Calatrava Weekly Calendar. This elegant and casual reference receives the brand new 26-330 caliber with a first-time weekly calendar complication. Indeed, while keeping the brand’s style evolving at a “traditional” pace, the company has presented a model with a casual atmosphere. It is more modern and practical as it displays the week number for its owner. At every level, the watch is balanced, through tradition and modernity, whether on the dial side or regarding the movement. Meanwhile, it doesn’t fall in the “always bigger” trend. I…
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2018 and 2019 Patek Philippe bracelet novelties: a new fold-over clasp and new expandable links
Hi everyone, As they did with the recent upgrade from the 324 caliber to the 2019 26-330 caliber, Patek Philippe introduced quite discreetly 2 other technical features they didn’t talk loudly about. On the one hand, the brand presented in 2018 a new fold-over clasp with the 5740G Perpetual Calendar Nautilus and 5968A Chronograph Aquanaut. On the other hand, in combination with this same buckle, we were provided in 2019 with a new adjustable links display within the 7118 Ladies Nautilus bracelet (diamond-set bezel versions). Edit October 2022: the adjustable display has slightly changed as introduced in the new Nautilus references released in October 2022 (5811G, 5712/1R and 5990/1A). Cf. the…
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The Patek Philippe 5650G Aquanaut Travel Time “Advanced Research” – A technical landmark
Hello everyone, 2017 was the Aquanaut’s 20th anniversary. The brand was willing to mark the event with the launch of two new references, the 5650G Aquanaut Travel Time “Patek Philippe Advanced Research” together with the Patek Philippe 5168G Aquanaut (with a dedicated article in the future). Some context As a reminder, in the early 2000s, Patek Philippe decided to create the new “Advanced Research” innovation program which would aim at preparing the future in developing new technologies and working on new materials. Since long ago, Patek Philippe, apart from its wide historical legacy, always considered they shouldn’t ignore progress and new possibilities. Some of the main issues watchmakers are facing…
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The new Patek Philippe 26-330 caliber – The latest evolution from the Automatic 324 caliber
Hello everyone, It wasn’t loudly announced during the 2019 Baselworld fair but the new Patek Philippe 26-330 caliber has been released. It was introduced inside a 2019 novelty (5212A Weekly Calendar) as well as an update to existing references (the 3 remaining 5711 Nautilus in the catalogue). Moreover, some of its new features have been added to the new 5520P Alarm’s movement. We can of course expect that the 26-330 will be extended to the other references in the future as a successor to the 324 caliber. As usual with Patek Philippe, and despite what its very traditional image might suggests at first, the manufacture’s watchmakers continuously improve their calibers.…
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The Patek Philippe 30-255 caliber – The manual wind beauty is waking-up
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The unusual and gorgeous Patek Philippe 5170P Chronograph
Hi everyone, Patek Philippe and manual-wind chronographs is a deep and long story where the brand has established the reference in terms of traditional elaborate pieces, especially since the 1920’s-1930’s for wristwatches. The Patek Philippe 5170P Chronograph was launched in 2017 with a gorgeous dark blue dial. As it is the last evolution of this chronograph generation, I’ll focus on what makes it stand out from the 5170 family, or even the Patek catalogue as a whole. Hence, let’s handle this “unusual classic” model for the brand. To start with, I think it is interesting to notice that a wide array of customers and collectors has very much appreciated its…
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The “contemporary” Patek Philippe 5140P Perpetual Calendar with grey dial
Hello everyone, The Patek Philippe 5140P-017 Perpetual Calendar with Grey dial was the last version, unveiled in 2016, of the former Perpetual Calendar-only generation. The first 5140 reference was launched in 2006 and, aesthetically speaking, was known as a very classical design. Though the “contemporary” qualification sounds like a contradiction with the 5140 collection, it is I think perfectly relevant in this very case. Even if its launch was quite discreet on the internet, I think that this last version deserves a very close attention as it stands out from its 5140 predecessors and maybe announced some of the brand’s styling evolution that came afterwards. This ultimate version was the…
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The Patek Philippe 5960G Annual Calendar Chronograph – In a sailing camo
Hello everyone, In 2017, we had quite a nice surprise in discovering the latest 5960 version: the Patek Philippe 5960G Annual Calendar Chronograph. This is one of my favorite model (hence, the long article) considering the style or the complications combination. A perfect daily wearer that I think deserves a very close look at. Some background Back in 2014, I thought the Patek Philippe 5960/1A novelty (in steel), with its very sporty white dial, was the model that might be ending the 5960 period (the non-diamond gold and platinum versions were already discontinued), leaving the new (and bigger) 5905 reference to follow the line’s story with the same 28-520 caliber.…
