Pitch Perfect: A Patek Philippe Ref. 5078P-010 Minute Repeater In Platinum

Patek Philippe has since it was founded in 1839, made iconic versions of just about every complication imaginable and it’s not too much to say that in a very real sense – although its high-grade simple watches historically have show what the standard is and should be for craftsmanship in watchmaking – its reputation is founded on its mastery of complications, up to and including the supercomplication pocket watch made for Henry Graves. If however at gunpoint I had to pick one single type of complication associated with Patek, it would be the minute repeater, with the world timer a close second.

One of the many interesting things about both complications is that for several decades they were not being made at all. Patek produced its last minute repeater of the postwar era in 1958 and did not begin production again until 1985, with the ref. 3652 which is a unique piece; the ref. 3979, which began production in 1989 for the 150th anniversary of Patek (along with the caliber 89 clockwatch) marked the return of repeating wristwatches to Patek’s catalog. The world timer likewise ceased production in 1957 with production resuming in 2000.

The ref. 3979 was a milestone for Patek for a number of reasons – in addition to its debut marking the return of repeaters to Patek’s catalog, it was also the first self-winding repeater Patek had ever made and the first Patek repeater to use an in-house movement (previous repeaters had, as was standard practice in Swiss fine watchmaking, made use of movements supplied by complications specialists; generally Victorin Piguet). The movement in question was the caliber R 27, which is also the movement found in the 2005 ref. 5079 – one of which, in platinum, is the subject of today’s A Watch A Week.

The 5078 was originally launched in 2005, with the black lacquer dial model launched in 2008 and discontinued in 2017 and it is in its size, (apparent) simplicity, and technical features the natural successor to the ref. 3979. It is also a great example of the traditional Swiss haute horlogerie approach to complicated watchmaking which valued apparent simplicity concealing enormous complexity. At 38mm, this is a watch which on casual inspection doesn’t appear to be particularly remarkable, until you notice the slide for the repeater mechanism on the left side of the case.

The minute repeater (5078P-010) is respected, admired, and desired as a complication for a number of reasons not the least of which of course is its sheer beauty, which is audible rather than visible. It is also admired because of all the traditional complications it is the only one which has resisted being industrialized. Industrialized versions of the other two high complications – the perpetual calendar and the rattrapante, or split seconds chronograph – have existed for many years, but repeaters when they are made at all are, along with grande sonnerie watches, made in very small numbers. They also require laborious hand assembly and adjustment. The speed at which the chimes ring, the force with which the hammers strike, the tone and pitch of the gongs, and how firmly the gongs are fixed to the blocks that attach them to the movement plate, all affect the final sound of the watch and the experience of the watch by the client, which is subjective. Despite attempts over the years to take some of that subjectivity out of the process, the final judgement of the quality of any repeater is determined by personal preference, partly informed by personal experience, which is why repeaters at Patek Philippe were historically approved by the president of the firm – Philippe Stern and then, Thierry Stern, the current CEO.

The repeating works are largely hidden under the dial, however if your repeater has a display back, you can see several of the most visually arresting components in action, including the hammers, gongs, and the governor which controls the speed at which the chimes strike.

The caliber R 27 PS (PS stands for “petite secondes” or small seconds, referring to the small seconds subdial) is laid out similarly to a hand-wound repeater except where a hand wound repeater would have visible the going train, crown and ratchet wheels, and balance, the R 27 PS has the gold, engine-turned microrotor. (The Gyromax balance, with its adjustable rim weights for fine regulation, is visible just below the edge of the micro-rotor) The gongs are visible circling the circumference of the movement plate and the hammers, with their jeweled pivots, are visible adjacent to the governor, which is a centrifugal type and which controls the speed of the strike; as is usual for Patek repeaters, the governor is under a gold Calatrava Cross, the symbol of Patek Philippe.

Movement finishing is, as you’d expect from a Patek repeater, first class throughout. The caliber R 27 PS is quite flat, at 28mm x 5.05mm with correspondingly flat bridges, but there’s still ample room for all the usual elements of fine movement finishing, including beveled and polished countersinks, screw heads and slots, Geneva stripes (straight on the main bridge and circular on the bridge below the micro-rotor) and with the hammers black polished, and beveled with sharp outer corners.

One of the most important elements of any repeater is the case material, which has a great influence on the sound of the chimes. Generally, red gold is thought to offer the best tone, although minute repeaters have always been made in other materials as well, including yellow gold, white gold, steel, titanium, and platinum. Platinum is considered the most challenging traditional case material to work with; thanks to the crystal structure and density of the metal, platinum repeaters can tend to sound muffled compared to watches made from other case materials but one of the things Patek is known for is its ability to get the most out of even platinum repeater cases, and as you can hear from Tim Mosso’s review video, this platinum repeater has all the clarity, volume, and musicality you could hope for.

There’s really no such thing as an uninteresting Patek Philippe repeater; owning any Patek means owning a piece of watchmaking history but it’s even more true of Patek repeaters. This particular piece is part of a heritage of chiming watches going all the way back to the year in which Patek was founded (Patek sold a chiming watch the first year the company was in business) and in the R 27 PS you have of course a piece of mechanical heritage as well, with a history going back almost forty years; this is a legacy movement in the best possible sense of the word.

The remarkable discretion of the 5078P is for me, what really closes the deal. This is fine watchmaking as an exercise in the elevation of inherent quality to an art form and moreover, of inherent quality with no extraneous flourishes or extravagance. Don’t get me wrong – there’s a place for extravagance too, but I love the 5078P for many things and maybe most of all, for its air of trying to please no one but itself. There are always many different reasons for loving and acquiring a watch but in its disdain for ostentation, the 5078P is an example of the very best of Swiss discretion – secure in its position in the hierarchy of watchmaking, and full of the deepest possible satisfaction for anyone who does what they do, not to please others, but to please themselves.

See it here