Originally introduced in 2017 for the Grand Exhibition in New York, the Patek Philippe World Time Minute Repeater Ref. 5531R was the first minute repeater that could chime the local time, as opposed to a conventional world-time repeater that would only strike the home time. The reference then entered regular production in 2018 with a cloisonné enamel of Lake Geneva, or the lac Léman as locals know it, a recurring motif on Patek Philippe enamel watches.

Patek Philippe has now unveiled a special-edition version for the Watch Art Grand Exhibition 2019 in Singapore, featuring a cloisonné enamel dial depicting the city centre of Singapore, along with the country’s name listed on the city disc in place of Beijing. It joins the Minute Repeater Tourbillon Singapore 2019 Ref. 5303R as one of the grand complications created especially for the event.

As was always the case, the watch is in red gold and measures 40.2mm wide. it features hand-guillochéd, hobnail pattern on the case band as well as on the repeater slide on the left.

In it is the self-winding cal. R 27 HU which features the patented repeater mechanism that chimes the time of the city at the 12 o’clock position on the world time mechanism. While a minute repeater usually operates independently from the world time and thus chimes only the home time, the two mechanisms in this case are mechanically coupled. The hour snail of the repeater is continuously driven by the time zone wheel of the world time mechanism. It would traditionally be linked to the motion works instead in a regular minute repeater.

And in contrast to all other Patek Philippe minute repeaters, its gongs are directly attached to the case band instead of the movement plate for better sound quality. It also features a safety mechanism that blocks the world time mechanism during chiming, meaning once the snails, racks, wheels and levers are engaged, no adjustments of the time zone can take place.

The calibre uses a micro rotor and offers a 55-hour power reserve. As with all of Patek Philippe’s present movements, it is equipped with a proprietary, free-sprung adjustable mass balance that is attached to a silicon hairspring.

It features a sapphire case back printed with the inscription “Patek Philippe Singapore 2019” and also comes with an interchangeable back in solid red gold with the text engraved.

Key facts

Diameter: 40.2 mm
Height: 11.49 mm
Material:Rose gold
Water-resistance: Not water-resistant

Movement:R 27 HU
Functions: Hours, minutes, world time, minute repeater
Winding: Self-winding
Frequency: 28,800bph, or 4Hz
Power reserve: 48 hours

Strap: Brown alligator leather with red-gold fold-over clasp

Price and availability

The Patek Philippe World Time Minute Repeater Singapore 2019 Ref. 5531R-010 is limited to five pieces, priced at 540,000 Swiss francs. For more, visit Patek.com.

To mark the Singapore Grand Exhibition, which is now into its second day, Patek Philippe has unveiled a special-edition World Time Chronograph ref. 5930G-011 for the Southeast Asian market.

Limited to 300 pieces, the watch has a white gold case paired with a smoked, red guilloche dial that darkens towards the edges. It features a dark grey city disc, on which “Singapore” replaces “Beijing” for the time zone of GMT+8.

The rest of the watch is identical to that of the standard version that was first unveiled in 2016 with a white gold case paired with a blue dial. It measures 39.5mm wide and 12.8mm in height, which is rather impressive considering it houses a full-rotor movement, with a vertical-clutch, column-wheel flyback chronograph as well as a world time module.

A corrector pusher at 10 o’clock advances the cities disc, hour hand and 24-hour scale in one-hour increments. All that needs to be done is to set the city corresponding to the local time zone to the 12 o’clock position. The local time will be indicated by the hands while the time in all other time zones can be read off the 24-hour scale.

The 30-minute counter for the chronograph is located at six o’clock, while the seconds scale for the chronograph is located between the cities and 24-hour discs.

Visible through the sapphire case back, the CH 28-520 HU movement is based on the CH 28-520 chronograph caliber, controlled by a vertical clutch, with the addition of a world time module based on the concept devised by Genevan watchmaker Louis Cottier in the 1930s.

The calibre CH 28-520 HU operates at a frequency of 4Hz and offers a 55-hour power reserve. It is equipped with a Gyromax balance wheel and Spiromax hairspring made of Silinvar, a patented silicon-based material. As with all special-edition watches with transparent case backs, it has a printed inscription that reads “Patek Philippe Singapore 2019”.

Key facts

Diameter: 39.5mm
Height: 12.86mm
Material: White gold
Water-resistance: 60m

Movement: CH 28-520 HU
Functions: Local time, world time, chronograph

Winding: Self-winding
Frequency: 28,800bph, or 4Hz
Power reserve: 55 hours

Strap: Matte black alligator leather with red stitching and white-gold folding clasp

Price and availability

The Patek Philippe World Time Chronograph Singapore 2019 Special Edition Ref. 5930G-011 is limited to 300 pieces and is priced at 71,400 Swiss francs, or 106,700 Singapore dollars. For more, visit Patek.com.

Since its introduction in 2007, the popularity of the Aquanaut 5167A has followed on the coattails of the Nautilus Ref 5711/1A. And now for the occasion of the Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Singapore, Patek Philippe has unveiled a special-edition Aquanaut ref. 5167A-012 with red accents and a red strap.

The dial features the Aquanaut’s traditional chequerboard motif, but with red minute markers and a red central hand. The addition of colour is a nod to Singapore’s flag, which is red and white. Though the cosmetic changes are minimal, the overall effect of which is nonetheless striking and appealing.

Depth rated to 120m, the case remains 40mm in diameter and is paired with a red composite strap. It houses the cal. 324 S C, which is visible through a sapphire case back that has been printed with the inscription “Patek Philippe Singapore 2019”.

The cal. 324 S C is the brand’s central-rotor automatic movement that is fairly ordinary but attractively finished. It offers a short 35- to 45-hour power reserve, and as with all of Patek Philippe’s current movements, it is fitted with a Gyromax balance wheel, which is essentially a free-sprung, adjustable mass balance, as well as a silicon Spiromax hairspring.

Key facts

Diameter: 40mm
Height: 8.1mm
Material: Stainless steel
Water-resistance: 120m

Movement: cal. 324 S C
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds; date
Winding: Self-winding
Frequency: 28,800bph, or 4Hz
Power reserve: 35 to 45 hours

Strap: Red composite

Price and availability

The Aquanaut Singapore 2019 ref. 5167A-012 limited to 500 pieces, and priced at 22,400 Swiss francs, or 33,500 Singapore dollars. For more, visit Patek.com.

Announced just yesterday, the Patek Philippe  Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Singapore 2019 ref. 7234A-001 created especially for the Watch Art Grand Exhibition is the first variation of the watch in stainless steel. It is limited to 400 pieces and will only be available in Southeast Asia.

The Pilot Calatrava Travel Time was first introduced in 2014 as the ref. 5524G in a 42mm white-gold case. Later in 2018, the brand unveiled a 37.5mm version, the ref. 7234R in rose gold.

While the case material is the main point of difference in the Singapore edition, its bluish grey dial is distinctive and unusual, and more so in the context of such vintage aviator-inspired dials which are typically in a darker colour for greater legibility. The dial colour is meant to evoke the seascapes of Southeast Asian nations, including the port city of Singapore.

Its embossed blue calfskin strap, a first for Patek Philippe, is also unique to the watch.

It is otherwise mechanically identical to the standard model. Powering it is the 294-part self-winding 324 S C FUS which features a dual time zone mechanism indicating local and home time as well as a day and night indicator for both local and home time, displayed in apertures on the dial.

Visible through the sapphire case back, the movement offers a 45-hour power reserve and operates at a frequency of 4Hz. As are all of Patek Philippe’s current movements, it is equipped with both a proprietary Gyromax balance and a silicon Spiromax hairspring. And printed on the case back is the inscription “Patek Philippe Singapore 2019”.

Key facts

Diameter: 37.5mm
Height: 10.78mm
Material: Stainless steel
Water-resistance: 60m

Movement: Caliber 324 S C FUS
Functions: Local time, home time, date, day/night indicator for both local and home
Winding: Self-winding
Frequency: 28,800bph, or 4Hz
Power reserve: 45 hours

Strap: Embossed blue calfskin with steel pin buckle

Price and availability

The Patek Philippe Pilot Calatrava Travel Time ref. 7234A-001 is limited to 400 pieces and is priced at 34,000 Swiss francs, or 50,800 Singapore dollars. For more, visit Patek.com.

Of the special edition watches created for the Watch Art Grand Exhibition Singapore 2019, one is entirely new, and it also happens to be the most complicated – the Minute Repeater Tourbillon Singapore 2019 Ref. 5303R-010.

The model reference reveals the key design feature of the watch, like the preceding ref. 5304R, the new watch has no dial, so the mechanics below are revealed in all their glory. This creates a first for a Patek Philippe wristwatch – it shows the tourbillon regulator at six o’clock, something that has historically been hidden on the back of all wristwatch tourbillons.

Protecting the tourbillon

The rationale for hiding the tourbillon from view was to prevent exposure to UV light, which can ostensibly break down the lubricants that keep the tourbillon in optimum running condition. Consequently, the sapphire disc over the tourbillon regulator has a UV protection coating to prevent the lubricants from being exposed to sunlight.

A reworked movement

The new ref. 5303R is powered by the R TO 27 PS movement, which combines a minute repeater and tourbillon. Though it’s based on the longstanding cal. R 27, the movement was significantly reengineered to show off the striking mechanism under the dial. Amongst the changes are a larger base plate, as well as a rearrangement of the hammers and gongs, which required 20 new components to be added.

Interestingly, the hammers have been slightly ground down around the edges that point towards the hands, so as to prevent the hands from contacting the hammers when moving over them.

Although the movement retains the traditional rhodium finish, the enlarged base plate is gilded in rose gold since it also serves as the dial

The sloping profile of the hammers are visible from the side

Like many recent top of the line Patek Philippe complications, the ref. 5303R has an elaborately decorated case. The case band and lug flanks featured inlaid white gold panels open-worked in a lattice motif, while the tourbillon slide is also white gold and engraved in relief with the same pattern.

Only 12 will be made for the brand’s retailers and boutiques in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The Singapore element in the watch, however, is a subtle one: the red minute track around the dial has 12 stars, a reference to the national flag of the city state, which is red and white, bearing a crescent and five stars.

Key facts

Diameter: 42mm
Height: 12.13mm
Material: 18k rose gold
Water-resistance: Moisture and dust proof, not water-resistant

Movement: R TO 27 PS
Functions: Minute repeater, tourbillon and subsidiary seconds
Winding: Manually wound
Frequency: 21,600bph, or 3Hz
Power reserve: 40-48 hours

Strap: Alligator with folding clasp

Price and availability

Limited to 12 watches, the Ref. 5303R-010 Minute Repeater Tourbillon Singapore 2019 Special Edition is priced at 590,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to US$594,000. For more, visit Patek.com.

Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont has just added Buccellati to its stable of luxury brands, which include watchmakers like A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, Panerai. Richemont is buying the 100-year old Milanese jeweller from Gangtai Group Corporation Limited, a Chinese conglomerate that bought a majority stake in 2017 that reputedly valued the jeweller at €230m, or about US$271m at the time, according to Forbes.

Gangtai had owned 85% of Buccellati, with the remainder held by the founding family, but like many of its peers the Chinese group has been forced to sell assets as the Chinese government put a stop to the debt-fuelled overseas expansion that was earlier fashionable.

The terms of Richemont’s acquisition were not disclosed, although Chinese news website Jing Daily reports Buccellati was valued at US$313m, including debt, equivalent to about 15% of Richemont’s net cash position in the last fiscal year. According to Richemont, Buccellati family scion Andrea Buccellati as well as several other family members will remain with the jeweller after the takeover.

Buccellati gives Richemont a more diverse presence in high-end jewellery, where its business is concentrated the Parisian jewellers Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, which together account for the bulk of group sales. In contrast to the French style of both Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati’s Italian sensibility gives Richemont a stylistic counter to Bulgari, the Roman jeweller owned by French luxury giant LVMH.

For the official announcement, visit Richemont.com.