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Earlier this week we had the honour of attending the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition.
The show ran from May 27th – June 7th, the first week alone saw over 25,000 people visit the Saatchi Gallery which hosted the event marking the 175th anniversary of the Patek Phillipe brand.
The exhibition gave the opportunity for owners of the luxury time pieces or newbies alike to learn more about the heritage, artisanship and craftsmanship involved in turning an initial sketch into a ticking working piece of art.
The brand first came to life when Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva, along with his fellow Polisha ssistant Franciszek Czapek. They separated in 1844, and in 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the key-less winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851.
The exhibition itself was broken down into 5 zones and 21 different rooms, which presented watch collections from as early as the mid 1800’s right until the present day. There was even a theatre room that projected the history of the Patek Phillippe brand, bringing you up to speed before you eventually arrived at the immersion Room.
As part of the 175th birthday commemorative collection, the Grand Master Chime watch has a price tag of a cool £2 Million and features 20 complications. The Immersion Room literally broke down every single component of the watch on a curved screen which filled the entire room.
The 20 complications at a glance: 1. Grande sonnerie; 2. Petite sonnerie; 3. Minute repeater; 4. Strikework mode display (silence/grande sonnerie/petite sonnerie); 5. Alarm with time strike; 6. Perpetual date repeater; 7. Going train power-reserve indicator; 8. Strikework power-reserve indicator; 9. Strikework isolator display (chimes enabled/disabled); 10. Second time zone; 11. Second time zone day/night indicator; 12. Instantaneous perpetual calendar; 13. Day-of-week display; 14. Month display; 15. Date display (on both dials); 16. Leap-year cycle; 17. Four-digit year display; 18. Moon phases; 19. 24-hour and minute subdial; 20. Crown position indicator RAH (winding R, alarm setting A, and handsetting H.).
To find out more about the exhibition or Patek Phillipe click here.
Words by Anthony Caton