Patek Philippe – A demonstration of force
Two faces showing twenty complications including five striking functions inside a majestic white gold case. The Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 is the most complicated watch ever in Patek Philippe’s regular collection.
The new Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 should not be confused with the commemorative Ref. 5175 of the same name. With its breathtakingly hand-engraved rose-gold case, the latter is a limited, seven-watch edition.
The new Grandmaster Chime features an inimitably new white-gold case with a hand-guilloched hobnail pattern and now belongs to Patek Philippe’s regular collection. However, the process of crafting it is so time-consuming that the Ref. 6300 will also remain an exclusive rarity. It strikes the time on three gongs: either automatically every quarter-hour with the Grande or Petite Sonnerie, accurate to the minute with the minute repeater, as an alarm that strikes the preset alarm time, or – for greater time intervals – with the date repeater that acoustically indicates the date on demand. The modes of these sonorous functions are displayed on the front dial, which also indicates the time, a second time zone, the moon phases, the date, and the power-reserve of the movement and strikework spring barrels. The opposite side is dedicated to the perpetual calendar. Its center is a four-digit year display surrounded by four subsidiary dials: the analog date with the leap year cycle at 6 o’clock, the day of the week at 9 o’clock, the month at 3 o’clock, and the 24-hour time indication at 12 o’clock.
The most complicated wristwatch movement ever made by Patek Philippe – the manually wound caliber GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM, composed of 1366 parts – ticks between the two solid-gold dials. Its energy is stored in two double spring barrels. One keeps the movement running for 72 hours. The other one powers the strikework for 30 hours. It is endowed with numerous supplementary mechanisms that enhance user-friendliness and virtually prevent potentially damaging inadvertent manipulations. The pushers and correctors are labeled with delicate engravings and the dial displays the individual functional modes (time strike mode, alarm ON/OFF, crown position, etc.).
The new Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 comes in an 18K white-gold case with a manually guilloched hobnail motif and features a reversing mechanism integrated between the strap lugs. The black time-side dial with white printed scale elements as well as white-gold hands and appliques is also decorated with a hobnail pattern. The dial on the opposite side, all in white, has black scales and hands. The watch is worn on a black alligator strap with a white-gold foldover clasp.
More information on www.patek.com
