The manufacture unites tradition and innovation in a desk clock offering both a perpetual calendar and a weekly calendar, equipped with a brand new manually wound caliber with a 31- day power reserve, rate accuracy within a range of +/– 1 second per 24 hours and ease of use worthy of a 21st century timepiece. This jewel of technical and engineering prowess, in silver, also stands out by the timeless refinement of its exterior, enriched with green Grand Feu flinqué enameling.

The early decades of the twentieth century were a period of intense creativity for Patek Philippe. As devotees with a passion for technical excellence and innovation, the great American collectors spurred the manufacture’s zest for invention by seeking out and acquiring the most sophisticated timepieces. This outstanding expertise was especially manifest in the pocket watches, exemplified by the famous “Graves” (1933), which remained, until 1989 and the creation of the Calibre 89, the world’s most complicated portable timepiece, with 24 complications. Patek Philippe also produced wristwatches with highly refined movements and exterior features for this demanding clientele. But another sector of horology also benefited from this pioneering spirit: that of the desk clock. In 1923, the manufacture delivered to James Ward Packard, a famous carmaker, a desk clock with perpetual calendar remarkable for its eight-day power reserve and its silver case with applied ornaments in yellow gold and winged lions in gilt bronze. In 1927, New York banker Henry Graves Junior (for whom the “Graves” was destined) took delivery of another desk clock of the same type, with modified displays and a personalized exterior. These two pieces now feature among the treasures in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva (“Packard” desk clock » No. P-140, “Graves” desk clock No. P-1270).

A new high-performance movement

Patek Philippe is renewing its links with this golden age of the desk clock with a fresh interpretation of the piece destined for James Ward Packard. True to its “tradition of innovation”, the manufacture charged its designers with developing a completely new manually wound caliber offering a power reserve of 31 days, a rate accuracy of +/– 1 second per 24 hours and an ease of operation worthy of a twenty-first century movement. Product of seven years’ development, the rectangular caliber 86-135 PEND S IRM Q SE, stamped with the Patek Philippe Seal, comprises 912 parts, of which almost half concern the perpetual calendar. Its development led to the filing of nine patent applications for innovations and optimizations, notably aimed at strengthening long-term reliability, reducing the energy consumption of the perpetual calendar, enhancing ease of use, and securing the functions against any inadvertent mishandling.

A “precision regulator”

The 31-day power reserve is ensured bythree going barrels connected in series. To guarantee a variation in rate of no more than +/– 1 second per 24 hours, the engineers devised a true “precision regulator”, incorporated at the heart of the movement, with a patented constant-force mechanism making it possible to maintain the stable amplitude of the balance from the first day of the power reserve to the last, for a full month. At the center of the dial, a discreet power-reserve indicator shows whether the mechanism needs rewinding.

Jumping seconds and weekly calendar

In terms of the functions, Patek Philippe has introduced two new features compared with the “Packard” clock. The first consists of a “jumping seconds” hand (or “independent seconds” hand) making one jump per second in the manner of the old regulators. The second is a weekly calendar –a useful function whereby the read-out is made easier by the rotating aperture displaying the number of the current week on a scale at the periphery of the dial. For the other indications, the manufacture has retained the hour and minutes display in a small eccentric subsidiary dial at 12 o’clock, the moon-phase aperture at 6 o’clock and the day and month displays in apertures at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock. The date display by a hand –a hand from the center on the “Packard” –was moved to the subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock and two small apertures at 7.30 et 4.30 displaying, respectively, the day/night indication and the leap-year cycle – two pieces of information essential when adjusting the calendar. Transfer printed in black, these various indications stand out with superb legibility on the silvery opaline dial.

A mechanical dashbord

While retaining the overall shape of the “Packard” clock (albeit on a larger scale) the designers of the new Reference 27000M-001 innovated by endowing it with a genuine mechanical dashbord in American walnut wood veneer, housed beneath a hinged bonnet opening from the right. This modern system of a control console means that adjustments become intuitive, simple and practical –in compliance with Patek Philippe’s user-centric philosophy.
Under the bonnet, in the upper left-hand corner, a casing fitted with a patented ejection system houses the winding and setting key –an artistically worked piece comprising several parts. In the upper right- hand corner are the two openings enabling the key to access the winding and setting squares. Another opening, located at six o’clock beneath the bezel, provides access to the square that stops the seconds, enabling the time to be set to the nearest second. Once these operations have been completed, the clock can function without being rewound for a full month, thanks to its 31-day power reserve.

Corrector pushers

Below the dial, the designers incorporated five push-piece correctors. These pushers adorned with a letter or a symbol enable the user to adjust the perpetual calendar indications by simple pressure with a finger: from left to right, the week (Week), the day (Day), the moon phase (crescent moon) the month (Month) and the date (Calendar). The corrector pushers required that the movement integrate a complex system of intermediate wheels to ensure their exact alignment along the same arc.

An exclusive aesthetic

For the exterior features of the new desk clock Reference 27000M-001, Patek Philippe drew inspiration from the lavish ornaments on the historic model of 1923, interpreting these in a refined, timeless style. Panels of green Grand Feu flinqué enamel over a swirling guilloché pattern adorn a cabinet crafted in 925 silver. Similarly to the watch dials, these panels were counter-enameled to ensure that they remained perfectly level. This technique represents a formidable challenge, since the elements are large and risk becoming deformed during firing. Very few enamellers master the complex technique of enameling on silver, a metal whose melting point, lower than that of gold (890°C versus 980°C), is close to the temperatures customary when firing enamel (from 800°C to 900°C).

The border of the upper panel and the bezel present an engraved cord motif. The observer may also recognize, in the form of appliques in vermeil (silver gilt) decorative elements borrowed from the historic clock: the three rosettes located in the corners and at 12 o’clock, the acanthus scrollwork surrounding the Calatrava cross, and the four winged lions enthroned on the clock’s feet.
Prior to the clock’s entry in the current collection, Patek Philippe donated a unique preview version (Reference 27001M-001) with American walnut veneers for sale at the charitable auction Only Watch 2021, where it went under the hammer for 9.5 million Swiss francs.