Patek Philippe shows its chiming watches savoir-faire with two stunning new minute repeaters

Dating back to the 18th century, in the days before electricity was easily available at the flip of a switch, there were minute repeaters. Chiming the hours, quarters, and minutes, these mechanical marvels enabled their users to know the time in the dark. Some 300 years later, Patek Philippe has established itself as the leading name in crafting these complicated timepieces: Today, the brand has the largest collection of minute-repeater wristwatches in regular production.

Recently, the Genevan manufacturer once again reminded us of its savoir-faire in this realm with the release of two stunning minute repeaters — one marking the 85th birthday of one of the company’s patriarchs, and the other a fresh, feminine take on the complication. The former is the Minute Repeater Alarm Ref. 1938P-001, a blockbuster celebrating the 85th birthday of Philippe Stern, president of Patek Philippe from 1993 to 2009 and its current honorary president.

A birthday tribute

It was the idea of Thierry Stern, who was appointed president in 2009, to celebrate his father’s birthday with this true milestone in horological history. Unsurprisingly, it had to be a minute repeater — Stern Senior’s favourite complication. The self-winding movement that powers the watch, R AL 27 PS, is a wholly new one that will only be used for the 30 pieces of this model, named Ref. 1938 to mark the year of the honorary president’s birth. It is housed in a 41mm officer’s style platinum case.

The watch’s standout feature is an acoustic alarm that can chime a programmed time. Designed by Patek Philippe, it was one of the world-first features that debuted in 2014 on the brand’s most complicated wristwatch, the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175. Retaining the brand’s signature slide mechanism, the Ref. 1938 impresses with its ability to do one of two things once the slide is actuated: Instantly strike the time shown on the dial (in minute-repeater mode) or put the chiming on hold until the time at which the alarm is set (in alarm mode). To achieve this feat, while incorporating safety features that protect the workings of the watch, the team created four new mechanisms for which patents have been filed.

Completing this special timepiece is a white and grey miniature painting of Philippe Stern on the dial, a portrait rendered in Grand Feu enamel. This brings us to the second minute repeater recently unveiled by Patek Philippe, which shows off another artistic craft that the company excels at — gem setting. The scintillating highlight of the brand’s recent jewellery-watch launches is the Aquanaut Luce “Rainbow” Minute Repeater Haute Joaillerie Ref. 5260.

Feminine complexity

Aside from boasting the little-seen function that is the minute repeater, the new rose-gold models stand out with their rainbow array of expertly set sapphires and diamonds — one variant has a fully gem-set bracelet, while the other comes with three rubber straps. Another notable point about Ref. 5260 is that Patek Philippe chose its Aquanaut Luce ladies’ range to debut the first minute repeater in its sporty Aquanaut family. 

While it seems unusual for the brand to debut a high complication in a women’s watch, it is actually in line with what Patek Philippe has been doing. Earlier this year, the brand also launched the first Aquanaut annual calendar model in the Aquanaut Luce range. But make no mistake; catering to a female audience is not some trendy new move for Patek Philippe. Its first chiming wristwatch was a ladies’ five-minute repeater (that is, it chimes the hours, quarters, and nearest number of five-minute intervals) in a platinum case with a chain bracelet. That was created in 1916. The brand’s hallowed history of chiming watches is one that certainly continues to resonate with aficionados today.