Patek Philippe has launched a new Grand Complication watch that celebrates its mastery of the music of time.
Patek Philippe, 6301P_001_DET
The Ref. 6301P Grande Sonnerie is the watchmaker’s first wristwatch with a grande sonnerie in its purest form.
This grand complication which is exceptionally rare in a wristwatch, is complemented with a petite sonnerie, a minute repeater, and a patented jumping subsidiary seconds. This exclusive piece will be made in a limited number of pieces and appeal to the most dedicated of watch collectors.
The new model as a hugely complicated 703-part movement that was developed specifically for this watch. It is cased in platinum, as well as a black dial in grand feu enamel. Patek Philippe endowed the caliber GS 36-750 PS IRM with two tandem-connected twin mainspring barrels, one for the going train and the other for the chiming mechanism. This configuration delivers a power reserve of 72 hours for the movement and of 24 hours for the strikework.
Patek Philippe has been producing striking watched since its founding in 1839 and this new piece completes the brand’s collection of iconic timepieces, with a watch that will last for generations.
This watch features three classic gongs: low, medium and high. Attached to the movement, the three gongs must not touch one another nor other parts of the case or movement despite the compact space in which they hover. Three hammers of identical size and mass guarantee a uniform strike for all three pitches. The selection of platinum as the case material also presented a challenge because it is difficult to master acoustically and requires Patek Philippe know-how that at the manufacture is handed down from one generation to the next.
When they reworked the caliber 300 from the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, the engineers and designers at the manufacture added a small jumping seconds display, which was never done with a grande sonnerie. Inspired by the four patents of the 175th-anniversary model, the Ref. 5275 Chiming Jump Hour, they endowed the new Ref. 6301P with an innovative jumping seconds mechanism.
Patek Philippe has leveraged its skills with respect to artisanship and rare handcrafts, notably on the black grand feu enamel dial with the “glacé” finish, applied Breguet numerals, and leaf-shaped hands in luminescent white gold. The slightly slanted Breguet numerals add a dynamic touch to the classic yet contemporary face.
The displays for the hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock are well proportioned alongside two power-reserve indicators for the movement and the strike work at 3 and 9 o’clock with semicircular scales identified with the inscriptions MOUVEMENT and SONNERIE. The timepiece is worn on a hand-stitched shiny black Alligator strap with square scales and a fold-over clasp.
The relaunch of the 1989 minute repeater wristwatches gave Patek Philippe the opportunity to push the door wide open for the return of modern repeater timepieces. With the presentation of the Grandmaster Chime in the anniversary year 2014, now followed by the new Ref. 6301P as part of the regular collection (although its complexity limits production to a few pieces per year), the manufacture has opened up a new chapter that paves the way to new developments in the field of grande sonneries – much to the delight, aesthetically and acoustically, of all connoisseurs and aficionados who are passionate about the music of time.
