Patek Philippe is known as the king of complications and the Geneva watchmaker certainly lived up to the accolade when it unveiled its latest timepieces at April’s international horology fair, Watches & Wonders. Naturally, of the 15 novelties launched by the family business, almost half comprised complications and Grand Complications. 

The standout piece has to be Ref. 5308G, a new Quadruple Complications for dedicated haute horlogerie devotees. Originally debuting as a limited edition in platinum two years ago, it is introduced into the current collections, now made in white gold – and it is a marvel of miniaturisation and a showpiece of off-the-scale innovation. Somehow Patek Philippe watchmakers have managed to squeeze into the 42mm case four significant complications, as the name describes (and applied for an additional two patents). There’s a minute repeater, a tourbillon, an instantaneous perpetual calendar and, as if that wasn’t enough, a split-seconds or rattrapante (rattraper means “catch up” in French) function. 

The last requires a highly sophisticated mechanism to control a second sweep chronograph hand that can be stopped to measure an intermediate time. This can then be released so that it can overtake the other sweep seconds hand in a fraction of a second and the two hands continue to circle the dial as one. Horologically speaking, it’s a real feat in so many ways, particularly in the mastery of the forces to which the tiny parts – of which there are 799 in total – are subjected. All the while the timekeeping must respect the directives of the Patek Philippe Seal which includes criteria for rate accuracy – variations of this model must lie in the range of -1 to +2 seconds per 24 hours. 

Some of the Grand Complications explored in this self-winding watch require the expertise reserved for the elite of master watchmakers, like the minute repeater. This function, chiming on two gongs, is created by a complex system of tiny racks, snails, hammers and gongs, brought to life by the slide-piece set into the caseband at 9 o’clock. On demand, it will strike hours on the low-pitch gong, quarters by alternating high- and low-pitch strokes, while elapsed minutes since the last quarter on the high-pitch gong. It’s a beautiful, evocative sound, engineered with musicality to reach the “Patek Philippe sound” that connoisseurs expect. It’s so vital to achieve the perfect tone that the company’s president, Thierry Stern, personally listens to the chime of each newly created minute repeater before it can be delivered to its owner. 

All this highly sophisticated micro engineering is housed in a classic, typically understated case. Despite so many displays and apertures – a total of 13 indications – the ice blue sunburst dial is very legible with a surprisingly uncluttered appearance. The day, date and month displays of the perpetual calendar indication appear in three apertures and are arranged in an arc between 10 and 2 o’clock, while the day/night indication is at 8 o’clock and the leap-year cycle at 4 o’clock. 

A glimpse through the sapphire back reveals a slice of the movement’s craziness. There’s so much going on inside this statement watch but its stylish countenance exudes a casual, modern vibe. Maybe it won’t be anyone’s daily wearer, but collectors will cherish it. The Quadruple Complication represents peak Patek, and the manufacture has set the bar even higher for the rest of the horology world to reach. 

patek.com