The first decades of the 20th century were a time of intense creativity for Patek Philippe. Passionate about excellence and technical innovation, major American collectors stimulated the Manufacture's inventiveness with their requests for extremely sophisticated timepieces. The brand demonstrated its unparalleled savoir-faire with pocket watches, including the famous “Graves” (1933), which until 1989, the year of the launch of the Caliber 89, was “the most complicated portable watch in the world” (24 complications). For this demanding clientele, Patek Philippe also created wristwatches with movements as refined as its clothing.
Another area of watchmaking benefited from this pioneering spirit: table clocks. In 1923, the manufacture delivered to the renowned automobile manufacturer James Ward Packard a table clock with a perpetual calendar, eight-day power reserve, and a silver case with yellow gold appliques and gilt-bronze winged lions. In 1927, banker Henry Graves Junior (the future recipient of the "Graves") purchased another clock of the same type, with modified dials and a customized case. Today, both pieces are treasured at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Patek Philippe harks back to the golden era of table clocks by reinterpreting the piece originally delivered to James Ward Packard. True to its tradition of innovation, the manufacture commissioned its engineers to develop a brand-new manually wound caliber with a 31-day power reserve, accuracy of +/– 1 second per day, and the practicality worthy of a 21st-century movement.
The fruit of seven years of development, the rectangular caliber 86-135 PEND S IRM Q SE, which bears the Patek Philippe Seal, comprises 912 components, nearly half of which are dedicated to the perpetual calendar mechanism. Its development has resulted in the filing of nine patents for innovations and optimizations that ensure long-term reliability, reduce the perpetual calendar's energy consumption, further simplify its operation, and secure its functions against any misuse.
The 31-day power reserve is ensured by three series-mounted barrels. The engineers have designed a true "precision regulator" with a patented constant-force mechanism at the heart of the movement, which maintains a stable balance amplitude from the first to the last day of the power reserve, for an entire month. At the center of the dial, the discreet power reserve indicator informs whether the mechanism needs to be wound.
For the clothing of the new Ref. 27000M-001 clock, Patek Philippe It was inspired by the rich decoration of the historic 1923 model, reinterpreting it in a refined and timeless style. The 925 silver cabinet is embellished with green Grand Feu flinqué enamel panels with a tournoyant guilloché motif. Like watch dials, the panels are counter-enamelled to ensure perfect flatness.
This technique represents a real challenge, given the large size of the pieces and the deformation phenomena that occur during firing. Few enamelers are capable of mastering the complex technique of enameling silver, a metal with a lower melting point than gold (890°C versus 980°C) and which approaches the firing temperatures of enamel (800°C to 900°C).
The edge of the upper panel and the bezel are embellished with an engraved "rope" motif. Other decorative elements borrowed from the historic clock are present, in the form of vermeil (gilt silver) appliques: the three rosettes at the corners and at 12 o'clock, the acanthus foliage surrounding the Calatrava cross, and the four winged lions that dominate the base of the clock.
Prior to its entry into the collection, a unique version of this clock (Ref. 27001M-001), with American walnut plating, was previewed by Patek Philippe for the Only Watch 2021 charity auction, where it sold for 9,5 million Swiss francs.
