Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts 2024 on Show in Geneva

The largest collection to date.

Continuing its annual tradition, Patek Philippe is exhibiting the year’s Rare Handcrafts its Geneva Salon from April 13 to 27, alongside the final few days of Watches & Wonders. Aside from the 82 watches and clocks – the largest Rare Handcrafts collection ever presented – the engravers and enamellers will be on hand to demonstrate their craft.

The timepieces in the exhibition, comprising seven Dome Clocks, three table clocks, nine pocket watches, and 43 wristwatches, showcase the brand’s mastery of traditional techniques, ranging from the familiar like cloisonné and champlevé, to those less often encountered in watchmaking, such as wood marquetry and Longwy enamel on faience.

As has long been the case for the Rare Handcrafts collection, all of the timepieces on show are available in theory, but typically allocated to the best clients.

The Rare Handcrafts collection will be exhibited in three sections, each grouped according to the particular timepiece form.

Upon entering the Salon, guests will encounter a dozen Calatrava wristwatches with enamel dials bearing the constellations of the zodiac, executed in a range of techniques, namely grisaille, cloisonné, and paillonné.

The Napoleon room

The exhibition continues into the Napoleon room facing Lake Geneva. Here are the watches inspired by nature, including the pocket watch ref. 995/143G-001 “Portrait of a White Egret” with a wood marquetry dial.

The ref. 995/143G-001 with its matching stand

The last section is located in the room facing rue du Rhône. Timepieces inspired human culture, namely arts, traditions, and sports, are in show.

Just like the last year’s Rare Handcrafts that included watches depicting 1950s Formula 1 race in Geneva, some of the watches here feature motifs that depart from the classical styles typically found on metiers d’art watches. One example is the wood marquetry portrait of a surfer found on the Calatrava ref. 5089G-129 “Morning on the Beach”, will be exhibited in this section of the Salon.