Patek Philippe – Swiss Watch Makers

What Makes The Sound Of A Minute Repeater So Magical?

Nicolas Scatena — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:59:07 +0000

When people wonder the history of the minute repeater, they do not know that it dates way back even before electric light. As oil lamps were being created, watchmakers wanted to create mechanisms that sound the time on demand. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare claims the invention of the minute repeater but it was Quare who patented it in 1687. At first, minute repeaters used bells to chime the time, and as time went by it was replaced with wire gong. The first glance at minute repeaters were not actually minute repeaters but quarter repeaters that sounded the time closest to the quarter.

When the transition of pocket watches to wristwatches happened, minute repeaters were barely used. In wristwatches it was very hard and expensive to add a minute repeater and it also did not have much space in the wristwatch to be added. It was not until the quartz crisis that a renewed interest emerged for the repeater mechanism. Today’s top brands use minute repeaters in their timepieces and sometimes combined with other complications.

To judge how well a minute repeater is, it has to be heard first. The clarity or loudness of the chime does not rank a minute repeater but speed that it is chiming at does. Many complications take great energy and when it is playing, it can also negatively affect the amplitude of the watch, and therefore its accuracy.

The case of watch plays a big role in the excellence of minute repeaters. The material it is made of has great impact on the sound it plays and also the case shape changes that sound. Many great manufacturers create sound chambers in their timepieces so that gongs can perform their task at an optimum and the sound is also amplified.

Patek Philippe 5980R case refinishing

Nicolas Scatena — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 13:22:32 +0000

Below is Patrick Desbiolles, Head of Swiss Watchmakers, explaining the case refinishing for a Patek Philippe 5980R. As he explains that when working on the case refinishing you have to be very very careful. This Nautilus features a beautiful 18k solid rose gold case with a contrasting leather bracelet. Varied Price: US$69,000.

https://swisswatchland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/f7f501cd-c17c-4b7a-a3bb-450fe73a03f8.mp4

Top 10 Most Beautiful Watches

Nicolas Scatena — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:55:26 +0000

Top 10 Most Beautiful Watches

#10 Harry Winston Opus 11

The Opus 11 includes 155 jewels and 566 components.
The center hour circle displays the hour with 24 placards that revolve and rotate on a complicated system of gears attached on an epicycloidal gear-train.

#9 Breguet Grande Complication Tourbillon 5317

This Men’s watch has 39 mm 18K Yellow Gold case with tourbillon. Self-winding movement engraved by hand. 5-day power-reserve indicator. Running seconds on the tourbillon shaft. Compensating balance spring with Breguet overcoil. Silvered gold dial, hand-engraved on a rose engine. Sapphire caseback.

#8 Jaeger-LeCoultre è Duomètre à Sphérotourbillon

The Sphérotourbillon appears to be floating in the air as it majestically sits on the elegant gray dial of this Duomètre Sphérotourbillon watch in pink gold. This model will delight lovers of Fine Watchmaking who are seeking a model that combines originality and sophistication.

#7 Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Unique Travel

The first watch to combine user-friendly access to the world’s time zones with flexible setting of the time in the destination zone to the nearest minute. This timepiece capitalizes on the “Dual Wing” concept, thus avoiding any loss of precision.

#6 Jacob & Co. Rose Gold Astronomia Diamond Baguette

The gravitational triple axis Tourbillon timepiece features a three-dimensional sidereel display that boasts an Oval Sky Indicator of the Celestial Panorama, “Jacob Cut” Red Moon Orange Sapphire with 288 facets and diamond encrusted 18K rose gold. This timepiece costs a whopping $1,015,000 USD!

#5 Rotonde de Cartier Astrocalendaire

The Rotonde de Cartier Astrocalendar watch revolutionizes the perpetual calendar in terms of function and appearance. Its innovative design has produced a three-dimensional concentric display of the day, date and month. A flying tourbillon, rotating once every minute, occupies center-stage.

#4 Ulysse Nardin Moonstruck

The watch has 18k rose gold round case, fixed smooth blue ceramic bezel, mother of pearl blue and rose gold accents. It has Swiss automatic movement with hours, minutes, dual time zone and moonphase functions, sapphire crystal, navy blue alligator strap with rose gold deployment buckle, exhibition case back.

#3 Patek Philippe Ref 6102 Grand Complications

Patek Philippe knows what they are doing! This distinguished Grand Complication lives up to its name, coming in at number 2.

This timepiece is a start gazer to say it can be looked at just like the beautiful night sky. Patek Philippe uses their 240 mechanical movement on this timepiece. Illustrating the hours and minutes of solar time a beautiful sky chart with the phases as well as the orbit of the moon. It gives you the time of the meridian passage of Sirius and moon. And a hand for your date. Composed of 315 components 45 jewels

with a diameter of 44 mm. It has power reserve of 38-48 hours and produces 21,600 vph.

#2 A. Lange & Söhne Perpetual Calendar Terraluna

The Terraluna comes in a case choice of rose gold or white gold, both with a solid silver dial.

It displays minutes, hours, seconds, and a leap year indicator positioned accordingly.

The movement (above) is pure beauty at its finest.

#1 Van Cleef & Arpels’ Midnight Planetarium Watch:

It is now possible to wear the night sky on your wrist.

The dial displays Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with a rose cold casing.

The month, days, and a red marker for your special day, are all displayed along the bezel.

This piece of arm candy is perfection what with its gems for the corresponding planets.

It is true to the actual planet’s revolution around the sun.

This extraordinary time piece includes the gems:

Serpentine for Mercury

Chloromelanite for Venus

Turquoise for Earth

Red Jasper for Mars

Blue Agate for Jupiter

Sugilite for Saturn

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The Celestial

Nicolas Scatena — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:54:00 +0000

Today will be the first Saturday blog I’ve ever done, to start off I would like to recommend WatchFacts.com

Watch Facts is the carfax of the watch industry they certify that a timepiece you have bought has not been stolen and of course if its all original.

Ok so lets start this off my beloved watch lovers.

Today I will be speaking about another timepiece I dream to have.

It is a Patek Philippe Grand complication

Quick fact Patek Philippe made the first wrist watch in 1868

The grand complication was the celestial particularly ref 6102

A dream upon the stars, yes indeed this timepiece is.

This timepiece is a start gazer to say it can be looked at just like the beautiful night sky.

Patek Philippe uses their 240 mechanical movement on this timepiece.

Illustrating the hours and minutes of solar time

a beautiful sky chart with the phases as well as the orbit of the moon.

It gives you the time of the meridian passage of Sirius and moon.

And a hand for your date.

Composed of 315 components 45 jewels

with a diameter of 44 mm

It has power reserve of 38-48 hours and produces 21,600 vph

Of course the name Patek Philippe is respecting in the watch industry but they always seem to take simplicity and complication one step closer.

This timepiece is truly something that shines but without all the aesthetics other watchmakers use

Patek Philippe instead uses a beautiful dial with outstanding functions to capture the attention of anyone just how the full moon catches your eye in the night sky.

Truly exceptional.

I truly admire Patek Philippes work and especially this timepiece.

I truly do believe they try to simplify the complicated and make it into something magnificent.

They use a shiny navy alligator strap with square scales that goes perfectly with the color scheme of the timepiece.

I’m short on time today since it is my birthday so I’ll had to make this one short.

Remember I will gladly accept any of my dream watches as a gift.

Cartier Vice President had an Accident!

Nicolas Scatena — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 17:53:56 +0000

It’s mid week and I thought I should write about a ladies watch for a change.

I don’t believe I’ve ever reviewed a ladies watch on this blog up to date.

I’ve choosen to write about the Cartier Crash

Why? Well because I found it strange that I haven’t written about a ladies watch yet so I decided to write about a watch I found strange.

With a price tag of about $70,000 that could have been spent on the car that instead hit the watch.

This watch comes in a 18K pink gold or white gold case set with brilliant-cut diamonds, beaded crown set with a brilliant-cut diamond, silvered opaline dial , blued-steel sword-shaped hands, 18K pink gold bracelet or white gold and if that isn’t enough there’s one with diamonds, wrist size: 170 mm, mechanical Manufacture movement with manual winding, caliber 8970 MC, Case dimensions: 38.5 mm x 23.1 mm. Thickness: 8.8mm.

Cartier themselves don’t have much to say about the latest crash timepiece, I mean who could this watch is.. well strange. But anyhow this is what they said.

Cartier:”Created in 1967 in the heart of Swinging London, the Crash watch captures the incredible energy of the city at that time. With its asymmetrical dial, it revolutionized the esthetic codes of watchmaking history. Consistently released in a very limited series, this legendary piece carries the prestige of its rare nature.”

Ok so ladies and gentlemen the history for this timepiece is even weirder. The story goes that a Vice president from the Cartier offices in London, was involved in a fatal car crash. A fire ensued and the occupant along with his watch was caught up in the flames, furthering along the fatality and “melting” the watch on his wrist, a Cartier Bagnoire Alongee, which is shaped like an elongated oval. The watch being melted and mangled took on the shape of a surrealistic watch from a Dali painting. The powers that be at Cartier, found this “watch design” actually inspiring, and decided to introduce is as a new design, and as a tribute to their fallen colleague. Thus the “Crash” watch was born.( in Great Britain the slang for a car accident is “crash”)

A few decades after its creation the Cartier Crash became a limited edition timepiece the latest crash model only has 267 limited watches. Odd number of course.

Cartier is known for making beautiful artistic timepieces and indeed this is an artistic timepiece but I still find it strange.

So Cartier took their destroyed Bagnoire Alongee and simply launched it as something new and called it artistic. But it has seem to have caught on and sold well since it’s launch in 1967 once it was turned into a limited edition in 1991 it truly caught on with Cartier collectors.

Patek Philippe 315

Nicolas Scatena — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 17:36:23 +0000

Today I got a chance to see Fabio service a Patek Philippe with a 315 movement.
I took a few snaps and I got some of him putting on the balance.
The watch was completely serviced including refinishing of all the screws.

Swiss Watchmakers is based in Miami Florida in the historic Dupont Building.
169 E Flagler Street Suite 1032 Miami FL 33131

All Watchmakers in our facility are certified licensed

and are perfectionist

They take great care to detail.

In these Pictures we can see Fabio putting the balance on the Patek Philippe.

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