To pay tribute to its 175th anniversary, Patek Philippe created a collection of 25 limited-edition commemorative timepieces that include the Grandmaster Chime ref. 5175R, the Chiming Jump Hour ref. 5275P, the World Time Moon ref. 5575 and ref. 7175, six Multi-Scale Chronographs under ref. 5975 and ref. 4675, three different sets of four Calatrava watches —a set with cloissoné enamel dials, a set with hand-engraved dials and a set with wood marquetry dials— ref. 5089 featuring motifs of the Lake Geneva Barques and lastly three different pocket watches. One of the celebratory pieces that stands out from the rest is the Grandmaster Chime ref. 5175R which is so far the most complicated wristwatch of the eminent family-owned watchmaking companies and decidedly one of the world's most elaborate wristwatches. This is due not only to the number of complications involved but also to the horological degrees of complexity, two of which have been added to the annals of watchmaking for the first time. Moreover, the Grandmaster Chime is the first double-face wristwatch presented by Patek Philippe that can be worn with either dial facing up: the one that focuses on the time and the sonnerie, the other dedicated to the full instantaneous perpetual calendar.

Changing the face is very simple thanks to the ingenious reversing mechanism in the lugs. It is amazingly easy to operate and firmly secures the case in the selected position. Incidentally, the information for which a watch is most frequently consulted —the current time and the date— is displayed on both dials. The ultimate in user-friendliness and safety is assured with intelligent mechanisms that prevent potentially damaging manipulations and thus reliably protect the highly complex movement with its intricate cosmos of tiny parts.

Patek Philippe's Grandmaster Chime is a wrist-format timekeeping instrument of absolutely unprecedented complexity and ingenuity that establishes new benchmarks in terms of technical and aesthetic elegance. Its double-face case with a diameter of 47 mm, it accommodates four spring barrels and no fewer than 20 complications, including coveted functions such as a Grande and Petite Sonnerie, a minute repeater, an instantaneous perpetual calendar with a four-digit year display, a second time zone, and two patented global debuts in the domain of chiming watches: an acoustic alarm that strikes the alarm time and a date repeater that sounds the date on demand.

Additionally, the Grandmaster Chime ref. 5175 could not be conceived without a presentation box that does full justice to its perfection. The result is a superb chest made in Macassar ebony and seventeen other species of wood, its interior decorated with gold hand-engraved inlays. The Grandmaster Chime presentation is also accompanied by an 18K gold medallion,minted especially to commemorate the 175th anniversary as it is Patek Philippe's tradition.

A highly original creation, the Chiming Jump Hour Ref. 5275 unites a jumping hour in an aperture, an hour strike in passing, a jumping minute and a jumping second in an engraved tonneau-shaped platinum case. This grand ballet of sight and sound is produced in a limited edition of 175 watches. For its 150th anniversary, Patek Philippe included among its commemorative time-pieces a tonneau-shaped wristwatch with a jumping hour in an aperture and center minutes. This piece, Ref. 3969 has become a coveted collector’s item, particularly since this type of complication, which was originally produced in the 1920s, is no longer available in the manufacture’s regular collection. For its 175th celebration, Patek Philippe has continued its tradition of exclusive models, by developing Patek Philippe Chiming Jump Hour Ref. 5275, whose movement and appearance unite haute horlogerie and rare handcrafts. The dial of Ref. 5275, inspired by the old regulators, features an aperture for the digital hour display at 12 o’clock, a minute hand slightly off-center in the upper portion of the dial, and small seconds at 6 o’clock. These three indications jump instantaneously and synchronously in a fraction of a second. To achieve this feat, Patek Philippe developed a completely new movement: caliber 32-650 HGS PS, with four patent applications. Contrary to ordinary jumping mechanisms, which usually call for additional energy-hungry jumper systems, this caliber functions solely by means of gears and the instantaneous displays are fully integrated into the base movement – resulting in a total of 438 parts, a considerable number for a watch devoted to the hours, minutes and seconds. To reduce inertia, Patek Philippe included several silicon-based components, particularly for the jumping seconds. Despite its four complications, Ref. 5275 provides a power reserve of 48 hours with a single barrel.

The Patek Philippe World Time Moon ref. 5575 and 7175 represents the first time, Patek Philippe has paired the famous World Time with a poetic, original and highly accurate moon-phase display. This voyage in time and space is offered in models for men and women, with subtle refinements to the case. Launched in the 1930’s and patented by Patek Philippe in 1959, the World Time has been elevated to cult status by seasoned travelers and collectors of fine mechanical watches. With its two rotating discs, it displays the time simultaneously and permanently in all 24 time zones. In 1999, this ingenious mechanism took a new step forward in terms of functionality. A patented mechanism now enables its owner, when changing time zones, to correct all the displays collectively by a single pressure on a push-piece, without this affecting the rate accuracy of the movement by even a second. This system is exclusive to Patek Philippe’s World Time watches. This voyage in time and space is offered in models for men and women, with subtle variations. The larger 39.8 mm men’s ref. 5575 pairs an 18k white gold case with a black dial, and is produced in a limited edition of 1,300. Both World Time Moon watches feature the Geneva time-zone, instead of the usual Paris time-zone.

Slightly smaller at 38 mm, the romantic and feminine REF. 7175 is in a sunset-soft 18k rose gold, highlighted by the fiery sparkle of 70 flawless diamonds in a bezel framing a silvery opaline dial. It is available in a limited edition of 450.

Lastly six different models of a Multi-Scale Chronograph ref. 5975 and ref. 4675 fitted with a tachymeter, telemeter and a pulsimeter. With these chronographs Patek Philippe has returned to the source of the chronograph by creating a multiple-scale instrument whose face combines technical panache with finesse. A new approach to tradition, tailored to either masculine or feminine tastes. Virtuoso of a vast range of complications, Patek Philippe has always accorded a prominent role to the chronograph. Between 2005 and 2012, the Genevan manufacture reaffirmed its know-how and supremacy by developing a range of eight chronograph movements built entirely in its own workshops. They extend from the classic manually wound chronograph with column wheel and horizontal clutch to the self-winding chronograph with vertical disc clutch and to the highly complex split-seconds chronograph, with or without perpetual calendar. The case, too, reinvents tradition with creative flair. It looks classic but possesses subtle original details, such as the double lugs at case side and bezel. The two versions have their own exclusive design. Ref. 5975 for men is notable for the scientific detail of its dial, with the telemeter at the outer edge, then the pulsometer, and at the center, three rings of the tachymeter, measuring speeds from 20 kilometers per hour. There are three limited editions of 400 watches each in 18k yellow, white, or rose gold, each with a silvery opaline dial and black transfer numerals, and one limited series of 100 pieces in platinum, with a black dial.

The women’s ref. 4675 is a little smaller in diameter and features the tachymeter as its outer dial, then the pulsometer, and a central telemeter. Its layout has a delicate finesse, with baguette-diamond hour markers. The ref. 4675 is created in two limited editions: 150 watches in 18k white gold with turquoise strap and 150 in 18k rose gold with fuchsia strap, both with silvery opaline dial with brown transfer numerals.

The ref. 5089 175th anniversary timepieces are comprised of three different sets of four Calatrava timepieces featuring the Lake Geneva Barques, the hand engraved Breeze and Storm and the wood marquetry dial Lakeside Scenes. These unique pieces, inspired by paintings in the personal collection of Philippe Stern, honorary president of Patek Philippe, depict the famous traditional Lake Geneva barques. The scenes, depicted on a background of line engraving, incorporate three different enamel finishes: opaque, transparent and opalescent. 30 to 40 different colors, and13 to 25 cm of gold wire with a thickness of merely 0.05 mm, are used to create a finely detailed display of cloisonné enameling.

For the hand engraved set of four ref. 5089 referred to as 'Breeze and Storm', Patek Philippe has given new life to the oldestform of decorative art associated with watchmaking. The dials are hand engravedwith scenes of Geneva harbor and the fine old Lake Geneva barques with theircharacteristic lateen sails. Each white gold dial required up to 108 hours of work to engrave by hand, using the low-relief, or en modelé, technique. The depth of the engraving may be as much as three tenths of a millimeter.

The 'Lakeside Scenes' ref. 5089 set is inspired by old postcards of Lake Geneva with its traditional barques, the decoration of these limited edition wristwatches feature the rare and precious technique of wood marquetry. To create each of these dials, the marquetry master used up to 166 pieces of wood and 45 incrustations of 15 different species of wood, each of which he cut to shape, and assembled meticulously on a plate of solid gold.

Lastly, three pocket watches round out the celebratory pieces for Patek Philippe's 175th Anniversary. The ref. 992/152 'View of Geneva' is a pocket watch with hand engraved case back. This open-face pocket watch —a unique piece— gives center stage to one of the most emblematic views of Geneva. There is the Mont-Blanc bridge and the Île Rousseau, with the historic Patek Philippe building on the rue du Rhône in the background, together with the hillside of the Old Town, and further back, the Salève. The back of the white gold case has been fully engraved by hand, using the low-relief or en modelé technique, a process that required nearly 150 hours of work. The depth of the engraving may be as much as three tenths of a millimeter. The manually wound caliber is housed beneath a dial of white enamel on a white gold base, with a subsidiary seconds dial and engraved hands. Case diameter: 44.1 mm. The watch is accompanied by a white gold stand bearing the Geneva coat of arms, on a base of veined white marble.

The second pocket watch ref. 982/174 'An Outing on the Lake' is a pocket watch with miniature painting on enamel on the case back. The ultra-sophisticated technique of miniature painting on enamel was often used to reproduce works by the great master painters. In this unique timepiece, the enameller pays tribute to a work entitled 'Partie de plaisir sur le lac' —Pleasure trip on the lake— dated 1889, by the Swiss painter François Bocion. To create this enchanting scene on the back of the yellow gold case, the artisan has used finely ground enamel powders mixed with rare oils and applied with tiny brushes in the same way as paint on canvas. The watch is accompanied by a yellow gold stand set with a garnet cabochon, on a base of Macassar ebony.

The third and last pocket watch ref. 982/179 'Lateen Sails' is fitted with a marquetry case back and hand engraving. Micro-marquetry in wood lends itself to magnificent adornments, with subtle colors and details of an extraordinary finesse —as seen in this unique piece in rose gold, with a fine old Lake Geneva barque decorating its case back. This decoration is composed of 25 different species of wood, 106 pieces and 30 tiny incrustations set into the marquetry. The hand-engraved rim of the case back forms an elegant frame. The bezel and bow are embellished with the same hand-engraved motif. The manually wound open-face caliber, with power-reserve indicator and subsidiary seconds, marks the time on a dial in beige enamel over an rose gold base. Case diameter: 44.1 mm. The watch is accompanied by a rose gold stand set with a garnet cabochon, on a base of Macassar ebony.