Patek Philippe Ref. 1938P-001

Thierry Stern, fourth generation of the family and president of Patek Philippe since 2009, presents a special piece that pays tribute to his father, Philippe Stern, honorary president of the brand. To celebrate theThe 85th birthday of Philippe Sternwhose portrait appears on the dial, Patek has developed this watch minute repeater and alarm with a new and exclusive movement that will never be used again, according to the official statement. A heartfelt paternal tribute from the Great Lady of Geneva without precedent. Happy birthday, Mr. Stern. This is the new Patek Philippe Reference 1938-001.

Technical challenge with four patents

The Reference 1938P-001 is distinguished by its Officer style box in platinum with enamel Great Fire black and the figure of Stern in miniature painting. The firm has used the year of Philippe Stern’s birth to name the reference. But the piece is not only an emotional tribute, but a technical challenge. He new automatic caliber R AL 27 PS It is distinguished by the fact that it uses the two bells of the minute repeater to ring the programmed time.

The complexity consisted of adding the alarm system with an alternative barrel that would allow the striking action mechanism to be decoupled – quarter hours, minutes and hour peaks – since the system had to be capable of both striking the time on the dial (minute repeater) and stopping the striking mechanism until that the displayed time corresponds to the programmed time (alarm mode). A complex system that uses the two classic bells and retains the lock on the left side of the case.

No less than 227 components added to the caliber, among them, a scale system, a column wheel to select the striking mode and a fusée device with a striking trigger to temporarily disconnect the power source from it. He calibre R AL 27 PS presents four unpublished patents that allow changing the striking mode, deferring the striking of the alarm, ensuring the correct sequence of hours, quarters and minutes and ensuring that the striking barrel is always armed to play correctly and completely.

Work of art

The piece is a work of art andn hand-polished platinum case 41 mm in diameter. With its straight handles and screwed bars, it is reminiscent of one of the most prized creations of Philippe Stern, when, in 1989to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the manufacture, launched the limited series Reference 3960, an Officier style watch inspired by the first wristwatches of the early 20th century. The firm points out that it chose platinum because of its nobility, but also because from an acoustic point of view it represents the greatest challenge for a minute repeater in search of the true “Sonido Patek Philippe”. It is Patek Philippe Reference 1938P-001 is a Limited edition of 30 copies.

The case has a sapphire crystal back protected by a hinged lid engraved by hand with the inscription “To my father, 85 years of watchmaking passion” (“To my father, 85 years of watchmaking passion”). The sapphire crystal reveals the particularly meticulous finishing of the new caliber with the bridges and hammers with gold angles and the mini rotor in rhodium-plated 22-carat yellow gold with yellow gold angles and hand-engraved, black lacquered, reproducing Philippe’s signature Stern.

Four patents:

Mobile one-way clutch

Minute repeater and alarm with reversible selection

Repetition with constant bolt travel

Delayed chiming mechanism

Easy to use

The crown pusher of this Patek Philippe Reference 1938P-001 It is used to select the striking mode, which is displayed in a small bell-shaped window at 3 o’clock. When the watch is in minute repeater mode (black bell), the user can activate the lock at any time to hear the hours, quarters and minutes elapsed since the last touch of the quarters. When the clock is in alarm mode (white bell), it is necessary to activate the lock to activate the alarm (ring changes from red to white).