Patek Philippe was the talk of the town this past March during Geneva’s annual Watches & Wonders trade show. Among its new offerings, the Swiss watchmaker added the first-ever chronograph complication to its Pilot line and also gave a white gold case to its world time minute repeater, also for the very first time. Now, for its sixth-annual Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Tokyo, Patek has unveiled a trio of new complications that may be the most impressive we’ve seen from them all year.
Highlighting the exhibit is the new Quadruple Complication, ref. 5308P, which updates 2011’s Triple Complication (ref. 5208). The three eponymous complications consisted of an aperture-based perpetual calendar, chronograph, and minute repeater. However, this time, Patek adds a fourth feature: a split-seconds chronograph function. Sporting a classic salmon dial, the timepiece comes in a unique 42mm case made of platinum, which houses an R CHR 27 PS QI automatic caliber movement. Limited to just 15 pieces, this watch is only available at the Tokyo exhibition.
The next two watches are new takes on the brand’s World Time watches. Also limited to 15, the first, ref. 5531R, adds a minute repeater featuring a chime that sounds when the local time zone hits 12 o’clock. In the center of the dial, the enamel depicts the historic Chuo district in central Tokyo. Featuring a purple “plum” dial, the second World Time watch, ref. 5330G, features a world-first in that the selected local time zone will appear at the 12 o’clock position and be synchronized with the date indication. As a nod to the nation of Japan, a red dot has been placed at the 12 where the sun symbol would usually be. Unlike the other two models, this World Time Date is limited to 300 pieces.
Patek has also unveiled a pair of time-only Calatrava models during the Tokyo exhibition. To find out more about refs. 5308P, 5531R, and 5330G, head over to the company’s website.
