Patek Philippe holds “Art of Watches Grand Exhibition” in NYand unveils limited edition timepieces
Patek Philippe presented “The Art of Watches, Grand Exhibition New York 2017” held last July at the Cipriani located along 42nd Street in New York City. The 11day public exhibition showcased Patek Philippe’s tradition of high-precision watch manufacturing, curated to highlight the watchmaker’s 178-year history of Haute Horologerie. Watch aficionados as well as interested visitors were led to discover the rich heritage of the last privately family owned Geneva watch company from the inside.
A specially crafted two-story structure was created within the Cipriani to allow enough floor space required for an exhibition of this scale. It was said that it was the first time Cipriani had erected such a massive structure. A total of ten specific rooms have been meticulously created to showcase unique environments so that visitors will be transported back in time and see the Patek Philippe’s exceptional pocket and wristwatches dating back to 1530, house in a well-curated and massive exhibition with over 13,218 square feet of space. Among the most important timepieces in the Patek Philippe historical collection include the 1927 James Ward Packard and Star Caliber 2000 grand complication pocket watches.
Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern commented “From its earliest days, when our founder Antoine Norbert de Patek made his first journey to America in the 1850’s until today, the importance of America to Patek Philippe can be seen through our history exhibited in the Grand Exhibition in New York. Moreover, it is a tradition in my family that the owners of Patek Philippe train in the new world, following the path of my grandfather Henri who founded in 1946 the Henri Stern Watch Agency in the Rockefeller Center and my father Philippe, I trained in the US when I started in the company. I amvery proud that American visitors will be able to learn more about the historic and contemporary ties between our company and the American market.”
As a highlight to “The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition New York 2017” exhibition, Patek Philippe created nine limited special editions of ladies’ and men’s watches, featuring the most wellcrafted and beautiful artisanal skills and these timepieces are well-decorated with motifs dedicated to the city of New York and the United States of America.
The highlight of the collection was the Patek Philippe World Time Minute Repeater Ref. 5531 New York 2017 Special Edition, the new Ref. 5531 which debuted at the exhibition in New York. It is the first Patek Philippe watch that combines the two complications -a minute repeater and the World Time function. Unlike other minute repeaters with world time which indicates the local time by striking the chime when activated, the Ref. 5531 always strikes the local time, which means the hour displayed by the hands from the center in that time zone represented by the city aligned with the 12 o'clock position on the dial.
Patek Philippe developed the new and hugely complicated 462part self-winding caliber R 27 HU movement and is protected by an elegant rose-gold case with pierced lugs. Its caseband is exquisitely hand-guilloched with Patek Philippe’s iconic hobnail pattern. Its dial is adorned with a cloisonné enamel motif, true to the tradition of Patek Philippe’s World Time watches. In the dial, a painstakingly well-crafted cloisonné enamel dial adorned the face that tribute to the city of New York that depicts the Manhattan skyline by day and by night. According to Forbes, the world-first watch retails for over US$560,000.
Other timepieces in the New York 2017 Special Edition include the Ref. 5230 Men’s World Time, the Ladies’ World Time Ref. 7130, Men’s Calatrava Pilot wristwatch Ref. 5522, Ladies’ Calatrava Ref. 7200/50, Ladies’ Minute Repeater Ref. 7000/250, and Dome table clocks and Pocket watch New York 2017 edition as well as several Calatrava wristwatches New York 2017 edition.